The Back-Slide
by theboyfriend-and-theprettygirl
Summary: Mindy wants to resume her Friends with Benefits situation with Jeremy because she needs sex BADLY; but Jeremy has eyes for someone else & won't help her out. Mindy could always give Brendan another go, right? But she really hates him. What happens when Danny learns that she is looking for a new bed buddy? Would he help her out or will she go back to someone else?
1. The fine line between Dreams& Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

I am so obsessed with Danny & Mindy it's not funny. They are all I think about when I'm awake and they even creep into my dreams haha, so I had to write another fic about them. Okay, so this first chapter is mostly a conversation between Mindy and Jeremy…it may be a little boring, but PLEASE bare with me. It's needed to set the story and the other chapters will obviously be more Mindy and Danny focussed! I hope you enjoy it.

Paris xoxo

**Chapter One: The fine line between dreams and nightmares**

"Come on Jeremy!" Mindy begged, "I don't understand what the _big_ deal is! We used to do it _all _the time!"

"The big deal is…" he started in his poshy British accent that _always _made Mindy weak at the knees, "…you _complicated_ things."

Mindy rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Whatever." She mumbled under her breath and folded her arms across her chest.

"Look Mindy, I _love _sex. I'm _addicted _to it. Nobody loves sex more than I do!" Jeremy said laughing a little nervously. "I'm worse than that American show of yours- Californication! I'm worse than Russel Brand!"

"I know. That's why I'm asking you." Mindy said placing her hand on Jeremy's thigh.

"Are you trying to tempt me, right here? In our break room, at our place of work?"

"Goddammit Jeremy! What happened to us? We were fuck buddies! I really need that in my life again!"

"I understand the feeling but, I'm sorry, I can't help you." Jeremy said taking her hand off his thigh.

"Why?" Mindy asked, groaning loudly. "I just need to know why_. _Was I…Oh God! Was I b_ad_ in bed?" she whispered softly.

"No. You are extremely good in bed." Jeremy said patting her arm. "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised…_your people _did invent the Karma Sutra. God Bless that amazing book."

"So what was it then?" Mindy asked impatiently.

"I told you, Mindy… _you _complicated things."

"How so?"

"Well you _fell _in love with me for one thing."

"I so did not." Mindy said hotly, feeling her cheeks burn red.

"Yes you did. You complicated things by your feelings. I was perfectly fine to be your _friend with benefits_ fling but you became too attached. You kept giving me these love-sick-puppy-dog eyes and I had to end things. Which by the way, really sucked for me too, because I then had to do the clubbing scene again, just to be able to sleep with girls."

"Shauna is right. You are a man-slut." Mindy said rolling her eyes.

"I may be a man-slut, but look_ who_ is begging who to do the deed again." Jeremy asked, raising his eye brows at her in amusement. "I guess women can never get_ enough_ of Dr Jeremy Reed."

Mindy bit down hard on her tongue, to avoid saying something smart that would ruin her chances of resuming her friends with benefits with Jeremy. It was not in her nature to _beg _for sex. She never had done anything like these before. Even in the past when she was Jeremy's fuck buddy, she didn't have to beg or suggest the idea. It had just happened between them one night. She was '_forever alone'_ as usual and in one of her '_there is no such thing as love' _moods; when Jeremy had walked into the empty on-call room at the hospital, complaining that he had just had _'the worst day and really needed sex but with all the clubs shut, so where was he to find a girl to sleep with?'_ The next was history. Mindy pulled down the blinds and Jeremy locked the door; and that night was the start of her _love affair-_as she liked to think of it-with Jeremy.

"Mindy, did you hear what I said?" Jeremy asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

"What if I _promised _that I wouldn't fall in love with you this time…or get too attached." She asked avoiding his question. "I've totally changed. I don't need feelings and romance any more…I just want sex. Lots of… _just _sex… please, come on Jeremy!"

"Mindy, you're a great girl. But, I know you have trouble _separating_ feelings from sex. So I'm going to have to pass. Besides, as I was telling you before when you _zoned out…_ there's this girl that I really like. We are not together, but I really don't want to blow it with her. She's not _usually_ my type, and in the past I always thought of myself as a ladies' man, but this girl may be the one that I would _settle down _for."

"Wow, man-slut!" Mindy said smiling. "You're totally changing! So there _is_ a heart under all those _flawless_ abs."

"She's really different to other girls. I think if she learnt of our past situation, she would _never_ speak to me again. She already thinks of me as a trouble maker. She's not into bad boys, they apparently turn her off."

"So…_who's_ the lucky girl?"

"Someone you don't know." Jeremy said lying quickly.

"Oh come on, you are the worst lair…you are just as bad as Danny! You think because you are '_British and Charming' _that I can't see through your lies?"

"Mindy, I'm not lying."

"You are just digging your grave deeper, Jeremy! So it's obviously someone in our building because you said she would be hurt if she learnt that we used to have a thing."

"I didn't say _hurt. _I said that she would never speak to me again." Jeremy said correcting her.

"So it's someone I know…probably someone in this building…" Mindy said trailing off, trying to figure out who the mystery woman may be.

"Look Mindy, let's just forget that we had this conversation. I'm a play boy, I can't be tamed. But you," he said poking her in the ribs, "you need to find someone to fulfil your _urges." _

"Yes, great! Let's get back on track…so since you won't do it…I need to find someone ASAP, because I'm _horny _all the time!"

Jeremy almost chocked on his can of soda.

"Don't look at me like that." Mindy said rolling her eyes. "When guys say it, it's cool, but the moment a girl says something like this, alarm bells go off in your heads like '_Geez, she must be a slut…she's horny all the time.' _Yet, no guys would ever actually admit that they _secretly_ _love _it."

Jeremy played with his tie, trying to loosen it a little. He was starting to feel really hot and bothered by what Mindy was saying.

"Why don't you go clubbing with Shauna again? You might find someone there." Jeremy suggested, trying to divert the awkward subject.

"Nah, I'm _over_ the whole clubbing scene. I gave it another go last time, when everyone from the office went, because I hadn't been in a _decade_, but the guys are the same jerks as always. Plus, that time I met Josh and look how _great _he turned out to be."

"Which one was he again? The one that dumped you for his best-friend?"

"No, that was Jamie. Gosh, keep up Jeremy! Josh was the sports' lawyer…the guy that I hosted the Christmas party at my house with?"

"Oh, the one that had the psychotic girlfriend that destroyed Danny's gingerbread house?"

"Yes, _that _Josh." Mindy said sighing at the memory of her not so perfect boyfriend. "He made me a home-wrecker. He was a jerk, Jeremy! Now I know _how_ poor Jennifer Aniston felt when Brad Pitt fell in love with Angelina Jolie."

"I think their circumstances were a little bit different to yours." Jeremy said, before Mindy shot him a dirty look. "Okay, _fine,_ I'm sorry."

"Oh I know!" Mindy exclaimed loudly, her eyes widening at the idea that had just presented itself in her head. "You must know like _tonnes _of sexy single guys, _right?_ You can hook me up."

"Actually, Mindy…" Jeremy said shaking his head. "I don't have that many guy friends."

_"What? Why not?!"_

"Well for starters, most of my mates are in the UK. Then there's the fact that I don't have time for guy friends; the ladies keep me_ busy_ enough, you see." He said with a quick wink.

"Gross."

"Add to that, the fact that I see other males as _competition…_so you can see why the _only _male friends I have are Morgan and Danny."

"Danny?! You are friends with Danny _outside _of work?! _Why?!"_ Mindy asked in disbelief. "Morgan, I _get._ He's a very cool guy and super funny…but Danny?!"

"Danny is actually my best friend, you might say. Mindy, he is not_ that_ bad. Maybe if you got to know him better, you might actually like him more."

Mindy scoffed. "I don't think so."

"Sorry that I can't help you out with your friends with benefits situation…maybe you could try-"

"Don't you dare say Danny! I think I might actually gag."

"I wasn't." Jeremy said, looking at Mindy suspiciously. "You really _hate _him though, don't you?"

Mindy nodded without a word.

"It's a pity, you guys have such a strong sexual chemistry that exudes-"

_"What the hell man?"_

"Don't act so surprised. There's actually a lotto on you two. Everyone in the office thinks you are on the verge of _cracking_ and succumbing to Danny's advances."

"An office lotto? What the hell? _Are you guys on crack?_ Danny and I can barely _tolerate _each other!"

"Which makes it so _obvious_ that you two have this _strange attraction _towards each other! You can cut the sexual tension with a knife!" Jeremy said gesturing to do so with his hands. "I mean have you seen the _way _he looks at you? _Everybody_ notices it."

"Eww. _Gross man!_ No, just _no." _She said shaking her head in disbelief.

"Hey, I wasn't the one that suggested Danny." Jeremy said throwing his hands up in the air defensively. "I was simply going to say what about _Brendan_?"

"_Brendan? _Really, Jeremy? Brendan? He is _worse _than Danny! _Are you kidding me?_ I would literally,_ rather_ sleep with Danny-"

_"Would you now_?" Danny asked walking into the break room, carrying a sandwich and a bottle of water.

Mindy opened and closed her mouth in shock.

_Great work, Mindy! _

_How the hell are you going to talk yourself out of this one?!_

"So the _truth _comes out…_Finally_." Danny said, pulling out a chair next to Mindy to sit down at her and Jeremy's table. "I always _knew _that you had a _thing _for me, Lahiri."

"Eww. I don't." Mindy said hotly. "As if!"

Mindy wanted to mentally kick herself.

_As if?! _

_Great comeback! _

_Dude you really need to STOP watching Clueless so much! _

But it was the best that she could do and although she really wished that she could find another way to shut him down, her mind was totally blank. Well not exactly blank. It was filled with angry thoughts, mostly about Danny Costellano; thoughts which involved her planning and executing various painful, slow torturous deaths.

"I heard you, just now, with my own two ears, Mindy."

"Your own two ears? Wow, Danny, _wow._ I didn't know that you had two ears, or that you could let alone count! Thanks for sharing that _useless_ part of information with us." Mindy said sarcastically, looking at Jeremy for some support.

Jeremy however, had a smug look on his face, almost as if he was enjoy the scene in front of him. He kept looking back and forth from her to Danny, like he was at a game of Tennis, almost as if it was something out of a sudden death match at the English open. Mindy kicked him hard under the table.

"Ouch. What was that for Mindy?" he asked cluelessly.

_"What?"_ she asked narrowing her eyes at him.

She was going to kill him.

"You kicked me." Jeremy whined. "Why did you do that for?"

"Sorry, I have bad reflexes." She said innocently, rolling her eyes at Jeremy when Danny was not looking.

"She kicked you because you are not taking _her side_, Jeremy." Danny said with a mouthful of food.

"Gross man, _don't _talk with your mouth full! _You're ancient._ Aren't you meant to know these kind of rules already?" Mindy said attacking Danny.

Jeremy smirked again and for once Mindy could see that he was savouring this moment in front of him. She was almost a hundred percent sure that when he left them, he would be giving Shauna, Betsy and Morgan the 411 on the latest goss of Danny and Mindy. The thought of the four of them placing wagers on her and Danny's fight, made her reach out and kick Jeremy hard in the shin again.

"What the hell, Mindy? You kicked me again." Jeremy said a little angrier this time. "I think it's going to bruise."

Mindy secretly wished that it would. That would teach him for not sticking up for her and for storing up information to give to the others.

"Sorry Jeremy, I told you I have the _worst _reflexes."

"It comes with _old age,_ Jeremy." Danny said before taking about bit out of his sandwich. "She can't help it."

"Something that _you _would know _all _about_, right Danny_?" Mindy asked fighting back.

"I know that you are so desperately wanting to make fun of my age again; but you seem to _forget_ that we were born in the _same _decade. I'm not that much older than you, Mindy. Just keep that in mind."

Jeremy smirked, snorted a little loudly and quickly jumped up from the table. Mindy had shot him another dirty look and he was not in the mood to get kicked again. That girl had unbelievably strong strength in her legs and two bruises on his shins were more than enough for one day.

"Well I must be off." He said stretching a little, before throwing his rubbish away in the bin. "I have a tonne of emails to answer. Enjoy your lunch guys."

Mindy stood up a second later.

"Aww are you going too?" Danny asked sarcastically. "Such a pity."

"Yes, Danny. I, like Jeremy have a tonne of emails to address, so that's what I'm going to be doing." She said hotly as she started to walk towards the door.

"But Min," Danny asked reaching out for her hand. "We haven't finished our conversation."

"What conversation?"

Mindy knew exactly what he was talking about, but still for the fun of it, pretended like she had no idea. She knew it would be enough to drive Danny crazy. She loved teasing him more than anything.

"So all these years of denying it and _denying it_; but the truth _finally _comes out. You want to sleep with me." Danny said standing up until he was directly in front of Mindy, inches away from her face.

Mindy blushed quickly, a deep beetroot red colour filling her hot cheeks. Danny was standing a little _too close_ for comfort and she was almost certain that he could hear her _accelerated_ heart beat thump loudly against her chest.

"You're disgusting." She said trying to push him away, but he caught her hand before she was able to touch him.

"Just admit it Lahiri and I'll leave you alone."

"There's nothing to admit. You didn't even hear the _whole _conversation! I said I would _rather _sleep with you…_ instead_ of Brendan. But you didn't catch that, did you? _What's wrong Danny?_ Are you grandpa ears not working as well as you would have hoped?"

Danny rolled his eyes a little and didn't let go of Mindy's hand.

"You do know that there's office lotto on us, right?" he asked smirking a little.

Mindy was on the verge of saying '_DUH!' _when she thought the better of it. She always hated being the last to learn something. Sometimes it felt like she was always in the dark when it came to workplace rumours and gossip.

"The lotto is all _your_ fault." Danny said, bringing her back to reality. "You make stupid comments like _that_ and people think that _something _is going on between _us."_

"Maybe the lotto _started_ because of the _way_ _you look at me!" _Mindy growled angrily, fighting with all her strength to get her hand back.

"Why can't you admit it, Lahiri?" Danny said tightening his grip on her hand. "You can't get enough of me at work…you can't get enough of me when work's over… I _bet _you dream about me when you're at home too."

_"Dream?_ BAHAHA." She said roaring loudly with laughter. "I don't _dream_ about you! I have _nightmares _about you all the time, Danny and then I wake myself up in _shock."_

"Nightmares, dreams…_same thing_." He said shrugging his shoulders at her and raising his eyebrows at her up and down.

"Gross. Seriously man, they are not _even_ the same thing! Dreams are something you wake up from wanting _more _of; nightmares are like _horror films- _the images burn your brain forever and they stay there like scars. I can never wake myself up _fast enough_ whenever you_ creep_ into my sleep!"

"I read somewhere that we dream about things that are on our mind…so even when we sleep, our brain is still sorting the things were important to us in the day. Which means, that you spend _all day long_ _thinking_ about me; and then all night long _dreaming _about me." He said before releasing her hand and walking away before she could say another word.

She literally hated him.

xoxo


	2. Click groups, gossip and coffees

**Chapter Two: Click groups, gossip and coffees.**

She hated him. Every bone in her body was electrified by hatred.

Okay, so what if she got that quote right out of one of her favourite Chuck and Blair scenes in gossip girl?!

_What she wouldn't give to have her very own Chuck Bass throw her on a piano and make hot, violent…well not too violent, but a little violent with the touch of gentle love to her right now…_

_Oh God she had been so horny lately!_

"You're at work, Mindy!" she mumbled out loud to herself. "Get your shit together!"

Somehow whenever she spoke out loud to herself, the impact was more profound than whenever she mentally scolded herself in her head. Sometimes her inner thoughts lacked the authority that her out loud, judging voice emphasised.

Mindy gathered the files that she had left on her desk before her lunch break and started to sort through them. Despite trying her hardest to become familiar with her patient's charts, her thoughts still trailed off towards her earlier conversation with Danny.

_Stupid Danny!_

She hated that it had been _over _an hour since their lunch break and he was still inside her head, _taunting_ her thoughts with his annoying voice and his smug, jerky remarks. This was _why_ her days at Shulman and Associates were never as _productive_ as when she was in surgery delivering children.

In surgery, Mindy could breathe and concentrate. Danny rarely crept into her mind when she was helping a new born enter the world. In surgery, she could focus on the work before her and distract herself enough to put Danny and all his annoyance behind her for a couple of hours.

Mindy groaned loudly and closed the file. It was no use. She could not think. She had Danny_ fricken_ Castellano on her mind _again_. She knew what the antidote to this was, but she had no surgeries booked for the day. She groaned louder and covered her head in her hands. When Plan A was not an option, she had come up with alternate ways to push Danny out of her mind. Plan B consisted of taking a _half day_ from work and going home. Plan B was her favourite option, because it involved an empty house, lots of wine or _vodka_ –depending on how _badly _Danny had pissed her off that day- and of course romantic comedies. Plan C was however more than likely the plan that she would need to use today, because she had taken _too many_ half days lately and she was sure that the other associates would bring this up at their next team meeting. She didn't want to give Danny _another _reason to tell her off. He seemed to get so much _satisfaction_ from it and she hated that.

Mindy got up from her desk and reached for her coat. Plan C was _definitely_ the plan she was going to use today, because Plan D, involved yelling at Danny and then locking herself in her office, lying down on the floor and feeling _a lot worse_ than she did before their most recent fight. Plan D had never once made her feel better, she always _regretted _it whenever she decided to put this place into action.

"So then, she was like _'I'd rather sleep with Danny than Brendan._" Jeremy said laughing a little. Shauna covered her mouth in shock, while Betsy and Morgan high-fived each other.

"I knew it!" Betsy said laughing a little. "Guys its_ happening!_"

Mindy's blood started to boil. Jeremy continued with his story, while the four of them, completely unaware that Mindy was now standing in the doorway to her Office, hearing every word was taking in the whole scene in front of her.

Jeremy was leaning over the nurses and admin's station, recalling the earlier conversation that she had had with Danny _word for word_. Mindy had no idea how long they had been talking about her fight with Danny; but she figured it was a topic of great importance in the Office, judging by everyone's ecstatic reactions.

_Well DUH Mindy, they have a fricken lotto on the two of you! _

Mindy cringed at the thought of the little _click group_ in front of her, getting all excited with their updates on anything that involved her and her workplace relationship with Danny. She didn't think that her fights with Danny were _that _entertaining; but in that instant Mindy realised that she was no longer as _popular _at work as she had once thought.

_Were these people even her friends? _

_Or did every time they asked her a question about Danny mean that they were just trying to get information out of her for more gossip to spread amongst their click?_

Mindy shook her head in disbelief._ This was the last time that she was telling Jeremy anything! He seemed to be enjoying this the most!_

_Oh who are you kidding? He probably started the stupid Office lotto!_

_The stupid British floozy!_

"Then Danny was like _'I knew you had a thing for me.'_" Jeremy continued, making Shauna gasp loudly.

Mindy had heard enough. It was time to stop this.

"Hey guys," she said slamming her office door closed a little louder than normal, pretending to have just come out of it. "What are you guys talking about?"

"The Midwives." Betsy said cluelessly at the same time that Shauna, Morgan and Jeremy had said_ 'patients'_ simultaneously.

"Oh, are they still stealing our patients? Those… _thugs_." Mindy said trying to seem cool.

"I might be a little wrong with the terminology you_ Americans_ seem to use but; I do believe that that is _not _the right use of the word _'thugs' _Mindy." Jeremy said laughing a little awkwardly. "Am I right guys?"

Shauna and Morgan nodded in agreement, while Betsy stood rigidly and motionless, staring at Mindy uncomfortably.

"It's an American thing." Mindy said, waving her hand in the air to dismiss the comment, suddenly realising that her _attempt_ to sound cool, had just made her look like a total idiot. "I don't expect you to understand."

"Well I should be getting back to my work." Jeremy said straightening his tie a little. "You tell the _losers_ up stairs that if they are going to be stealing any more of our patients, they will have to go through _me_ first."

Mindy hated whenever Jeremy straightened his tie. He usually did it for three reasons. He did that whenever he was lying, whenever he was extremely nervous about something or whenever he was in an awkward situation. It drove Mindy insane. Granted not as much as Danny _did_ on a daily basis; but when you work with someone for so long, you kind of become accustomed to their annoying habits and twitches... it was enough to make her cringe whenever they played out in front of her. Danny drove her mental with his cockiness and Jeremy with his lies and awkwardness. The awkwardness was something that Mindy figured had come _after_ they ended their Friends with Benefits situation

_Maybe Jeremy thinks that I'm still madly in love with him? _She thought to herself.

_Yeah right!_

_That ship had LONG sailed._

"I'm going to get coffee." Mindy said loudly, when she realised that everyone including Jeremy were still very much there and staring directly at her.

"Oh ok, well that sounds great Dr L" Shauna said nodding in agreement.

"Hey Dr L," Morgan said catching her attention before she had a chance to leave. "Can you ask them if they have that really expensive coffee…you know, the one I told you about last time?"

"The cat-poo coffee?!" Mindy exclaimed scrunching her face up in disgust.

"_Cat-poo coffee?"_ Jeremy, Shauna and Betsy all repeated in disgust together.

"Yes, that one." Morgan said nodding. "It's really beneficial to your health and I want to start buying it and maybe…selling it myself? Please Dr L?"

"Morgan, I am _not _asking them if they have it. You can do it _yourself _next time you go to your own coffee shop. Its embarrassing, I'm sorry Morgan, I really am but I _won't_ be doing that for you."

Morgan nodded, obviously hurt by her reaction. Mindy shook her head quickly and pretended not to care.

_Why should she, when they were all gossiping and placing wagers on her behind her back?_

Mindy kind of expected that sort of behaviour from Jeremy- _he was extremely immature_- but to also receive it from Morgan as well? Especially since she was the one that gave him a go and hired him for the job? She thought he would be a lot more thankful and protective of her and her feelings. He had really let her down.

"Okay, what's going on out here?" Danny asked stepping out of his office to see everybody not working. "Have you run out of work? I can give you guys some _more_, I'm up to my _elbows _in paperwork."

"No Dr Castellano." Shauna said sitting down at her desk and opening a file. Morgan and Betsey following her lead quickly.

"I'm going to get coffee." Mindy said hotly turning on her heel to leave.

That is what Plan C was. _Coffee._ It was almost as good as Plan B, but without the _relief_ of not having to see Danny until the next day.

"Dr Lahiri," Danny called before she was able to leave. "Could you please get me a Chai Latte?"

"What?" Mindy asked annoyed.

"I'll fix you up when you come to my office later, my wallet is not in my pants, you see." Danny said without looking up at Mindy, pretending to be consumed in his patient's file.

"I don't need your money," she mumbled quietly.

She looked over at the click group and saw them quietly communicating their smug looks to each other, without the form of words spoken.

_Do not give them the satisfaction. _

_Just leave Mindy._

_Plan C, put it into place and leave with some dignity!_

_If you fight, you are just fuelling the Office lotto; if you talk back you are just encouraging the click to gossip behind your back again!_

_Leave with your head high and full of dignity...Classy like a lady._

"Are you planning on getting those coffees or not, Dr Lahiri?" Danny asked, snapping Mindy back to the present moment, looking up at her for the first time since their earlier conversation.

"Bite me." She said spinning on her heel and heading towards the lifts.

_Great!_ Mindy thought sarcastically. _So much for keeping your dignity and being a classy lady!_

xoxo

_Stupid Danny and his stupid Chai Latte!_ Mindy thought as she re-joined the busy coffee shop line.

She had been so _mad_, the first time that she had ordered that she forgot to ask for his stupid drink. Taking a sip out of her hot Cappuccino, Mindy sighed heavily. The line was now even longer than the first time that she had ordered. Of course it would be, it was now the 2pm rush; that always happened around this time of the afternoon. It usually signalled that people needed a '_pick me up' _before the last three hours of the day could pass painfully and slowly by.

_Why did time always go so slow at the end of the day?_ She thought to herself as she enjoyed another sip of her hot coffee.

Not sure whether she should be relieved that she would be _Danny-free _for another fifteen or so minutes until she had worked her way up this _never-ending_ line; or _annoyed_ that she was the most _impatient _person alive and hated any kind of lines- Mindy pulled out her phone and started to go through her contacts.

_There had to be somebody in here that she could….sleep with, right?_

_She needed to get laid. That's what Gwen had said to her the other night on the phone._

_Gwen was right. She was irritated and grumpy all the time, because it had been awhile since she had sex! _

_She was too wound up and needed to have some kind of release._

Mindy scrunched up her nose in disgust. _That sounded really disgusting!_

What was going on with her? She NEVER thought things like that, ever.

_"Mindy?_" a familiar voice asked bringing her back to reality.

"Josh?" she said rolling her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping to bump into you, actually. I've been coming here _every day_ for the last two weeks…we had our first date here, so I figured that I could eventually find you again." He said laughing a little nervously, and pushing his glasses back up his nose. "I want you _back_ Mindy, I made a mistake."

xoxo

"Dr Castellano, do you have a minute?" Betsy asked knocking on his open door.

"Sure Betsy, what's up?"

"So this isn't really a work related conversation," she said walking into the room and closing her door behind her quickly. "but I could really use _your_ advice, because well you seem to know a lot about men and women; and because I can't really talk about this with anyone else."

Danny frowned. This was _already_ too complicated for him. Why on earth had she chosen to come to him and not Jeremy?

"What's the problem, Betsy?" he asked, attempting to handle the situation in the best way that he could.

"Well there's this guy that I _really_ like-"

Now he knew that his was _definitely _too complicated for him.

"Uh Betsy," he said cutting her off suddenly, "wouldn't this be better if you discussed this kind of stuff with Shauna?"

Betsy shook her head in disagreement, her eyes widening with shock.

"Morgan?" Danny asked quickly, feeling a stress related headache coming on. "Jeremy?"

"No, I want to talk about this with you, Dr Castellano. I feel more comfortable with you for some reason."

"What about Mindy?!" he asked clicking his fingers together and pointing them to get, like an imaginary light bulb had just turned on in his head.. "She's what- your best friend, _right?_ She can totally help you out when she's back from her coffee run."

"Dr Lahiri is _my boss_ and I don't feel comfortable having this conversation with her."

It took all Danny's strength to not be smart and remind Betsy that he was _also _her boss.

"Tell me about this guy…" he said through clenched teeth, instantly regretting how weak he was being in the current situation.

"He's handsome…he's funny…" Betsy started, emphasising each word and pausing to make sure that Danny took it all in.

_Kill me now,_ Danny thought as he rubbed his temples.

"Go on…" he said almost sarcastically, but Betsy did not seem to catch his drift.

"But he's a play boy and kind of a womanising jerk. He's slept with _so many _women and I don't want to get heartbroken if I let him in and then he cheats on me or dumps me for someone else...somebody _hotter _or more his type."

This was definitely Mindy's field of expertise. Why was she burdening him? He had no idea what to say to her!

"Look Betsy, men like that…are _never _going to change. I wouldn't be wasting my time with a jerk like him…you deserve a lot better,okay?"

It probably came out wrong and he probably sounded mean to be giving it to her straight; but that was how he was raised.

_Tough love._ It always worked. There was no need to lie and sugar-coat things...people should always be honest. Tough love was all her could offer Betsy.

"That's what I thought. But he's been sending me all these text messages saying that he wants to take me on a date and last week when I was sick, he came over to my apartment and made me soup from scratch. Like he cut all the vegetables and blended it for me."

"Look Betsy, I'm not the good with relationship advice. I'm a lot older than you and I'm also divorced, so clearly I'm not the best person to be asking for advice from. Mindy, would know the _right thing_ to say…you should really be asking her."

"Thanks for the advice, Dr Castellano, but I think I will keep this to myself for now…I don't really want a lot of people knowing about my guy problems at my place of work. I like keeping my _depressing _love life to myself."

"Fair enough." Danny said leaning back in his chair, a little relieved that he had been let off the hook so easily. "Just remember, you're a great girl and you deserve better."

"Thanks, Dr Castellano." Betsy said smiling before heading back to her work.

_Crisis averted_, Danny thought as he continued to rub his temples_. I hope I never have to do something like that ever again! _

xoxo

"A mistake really? Josh?_ Really_?" Mindy asked loudly, almost causing a scene in the packed coffee shop. "You cheated on me. You had a girlfriend of two years and you made me the _other _woman!"

"Look I told you that I_ screwed up_. I'm sorry that I hurt you, but it's over with Heather. I dumped her on Christmas day. I haven't seen her since. Mindy, it's _really _over this time." Josh said taking her hands in his.

"Next?" The unamused, middle aged woman behind the counter asked when it was Mindy's turn to order.

"Large Chai Latte please."

"So..." Josh said after Mindy had ordered. He was still waiting for some sort of reaction or reply from her.

"So…what do you want me to say Josh? You had a girlfriend! You should have _never _gotten involved with me if you weren't single! Not to mention at Thanksgiving you told me that you wanted to be _exclusive _and yet you had a girlfriend of _TWO YEARS _all along on the side!"

"Mindy, please…"

"No Josh, it's over._ It's so over dude_. You know the phrase, right? _Once_ a cheater…"

"I know." he mumbled.

"_Always_ a cheater." She whispered, making sure that they were on the same page.

"So there is _nothing_ that I can say or do, to make you change your mind and take me back?"

Mindy rolled her eyes. She needed to change the subject or strike up another conversation with somebody; just until Danny's stupid drink was ready and she could escape from Josh. She had forgotten how annoying and arrogant this guy was!

"Hey, Martha." Mindy said reading the name tag of the coffee shop worker. "Do you happen to have any of that Cat Poo Coffee by any chance?"

_Goddamn Morgan and the things he made her do!_

Martha looked at her unamused. "Look lady, I have others to serve…I don't have time for _stupid pranks_."

"Not a prank, Martha. It's an Indonesian Coffee actually called Kopi Lawuk, you see the cat digests and then excretes the coffee bean and its then fermented and made into a drinkable coffee." Mindy said trying to explain the embarrassing process. "Its got amazing health benefits."

Mindy didn't blame Martha for not believing her about the coffee. The first time Morgan had explained it to her in the break room, she had thought he was _high_ on something.

"Look honey, I don't know what weird things _your people_ get up to, but we don't sell cat shit here, okay? Now if you're done with the pranks, I can serve someone else." She said dryly.

"Firstly, _I'm Indian_…I'm not from Indonesia." Mindy said defensively. "Secondly, it's a_ real_ coffee and it's very expensive. It usually sells for about $15 a cup, do some research lady and stop being ignorant." Mindy said when Martha had passed her Danny's coffee. "Google it, you might actually _learn _something!"

"Okay, I'm not saying that you were pranking her; but please tell me that there is _no such thing_ as cat droppings coffee…_right_?" Josh asked as he followed Mindy out of the coffee shop.

"I have to go." She said rolling her eyes.

She couldn't deal with him right now.

"Hey Mindy...call me if you change your mind." He called out behind her.

_Never going to happen dude. _Mindy thought to herself as she walked away and headed back to her Office.

xoxo

**Author's note:**

Sorry if this chapter was kind of boring…the next chapter has some really good Danny x Mindy moments, so please be patient. Sorry for the lack of interaction between the two, but there's a reason for it. It will all be worth the wait, just trust me. It's almost 2:30 am here, so I'm going to go to bed.

Fun fact of the day: The cat poo coffee drink (Kopi Luwak) is a real thing by the way, incase you were wondering. Google it :)

I will be updating the next chapter tomorrow!

Night lovelies!

Paris xoxo


	3. Dirty, Dirty Thoughts

"Oh em GEE Gwen!" Mindy said when her best friend finally answered her phone after her third attempt at calling her. "Seriously man, what took you so long to answer? You will NEVER believe what just happened to me!"

"Sorry, I had to pick Riley up early from school. She's got a fever, so they asked me to take her home. What's up?"

"I went downstairs to get a coffee because it is _one _of those days-" Mindy started before Gwen cut her off.

"Oh no, _Plan C?_ What did he do _this _time?" Gwen asked sounding concerned for her friend.

"I will tell you about that next time I see you. He is not the reason why I called today."

"Oh. Really?"

"I bumped into Josh at the coffee shop." Mindy said quickly.

"WHAT?" Gwen gasped loudly. "What happened?"

"We didn't speak for long, I was mostly trying to _ignore_ him, but ooh get this… he _wants_ me back, Gwen! Can you believe the nerveof him? First he makes me fall for him, then he turns me into the other woman…he ruins my Christmas party and embarrasses me in front of all my friends, Danny and work colleagues; and now he was practically _begging_ me to take him back! What a jerk, right?"

"So what are you going to do? Are you going to take him back?"

"No way! Are you kidding me? At thanksgiving he told me that he wanted to be _exclusive;_ but I guess he forgot to mention that he already had agirlfriend and a fricken dog that they shared by the way, in another State!"

"Mindy, he was a jerk for keeping Hayley, _was it?"_

"Heather." Mindy groaned correcting her friend.

"He should have never kept Heather from you and he shouldn't have made you his mistress…but you did practically_ cheat _on him at Thanksgiving, so…"

"I'm sorry, but are you really going to say that _kissing _Dennis once and having a girlfriend of _two years _is the same thing? I only came onto Dennis _after _Josh told me that he didn't want to be exclusive. Now I kind of know why! Stupid, cheating jerk!"

"Look Mindy, all I'm trying to say is…" Gwen said slowly, thinking about the right way to tell her friend what she was trying to say. "…that you need to get _laid._ How bad would it be if you just hooked up with him one night? You can use him for the deed and kick him to the curb again."

"I have never done anything like that in my life before."

"I know! That's why I'm telling you to do it!"

"Gwen, this is literally the _worst _advice that I've ever heard…" Mindy said shaking her head.

"Look, the way I see it is like this. You can either get dressed up and go bar hopping until you meet a guy and then maybe if you're lucky you could have sex with him that same night…but he will be a _stranger. _I know you do not like one-night stands; so wouldn't it make more sense to just _use _Josh? At least you know him relatively well and hey, I'm not asking you to get back with him or anything but at least sleeping with someone you already know would be something more within your comfort zone?"

"I don't want to sleep with Josh. Gwen, he hurt me."

"Mindy, I know but I'm not asking you to forgive him or start dating him again. All you have to do is get what you need out of him and then get rid of him. Guys do it all the time! Maybe you should try it. I think you should-"

"No, Gwen." Mindy said cutting off her friend. "Josh hurt me. He hurt me a lot. He made me feel vulnerable and insecure. I would rather be single than go back to him, even if I was only using him for _sex."_

"Then I don't know what to say to you, Min." Gwen said sighing heavily.

"Today, I did something so stupid. I practically _begged _Jeremy to become my fuck buddy again and he said no. It was so humiliating! What's wrong with me? Why can't I find a decent, non-lying guy? So I can have sex and I can do it with someone I actually love!"

"Don't worry about Jeremy; he is too complicated for you anyways. Remember how long it took you to get _over _him last time? You practically fell in lovewith him."

"I don't think I fell in love with him."

"You so did! Remember when you called me when I was in Aspen? You said that you wished I was still in New York so we could talk, because you thought you were falling for Jeremy and it scared you that he wasn't interested in anything _other_ than sex. Remember how much you cried when he stopped his friends with benefits situation with you because he thought you were too controlling and always hinting that you wanted some kind of commitment?"

"Okay, fine! So I have trouble _separating_ feelings from sex, big deal! I did the same thing with Brendan."

"Brendan!" Gwen exclaimed excitedly. "Isn't he always texting you for sex? Mindy, he would be great. Why don't you ask Brendan?"

"Because I actually _hate_ that lying jerk _more _than Josh!" Mindy snapped.

"Mindy!"

"What? It's the truth! I hate him and I never want to see him again! I wish I didn't have to see his head every day in my building!"

"You can't be _that_ mad at him when you guys were not dating or exclusive."

"I'm just mad that he couldn't be straight with me and say that he still wanted to see other people." Mindy said trying to defend herself. "I might not have cared if he was a bit more honest."

"I find that hard to believe." Gwen said dryly.

Mindy chose to ignore the comment and let it slide.

"Actually, Jeremy suggested him today too, can you believe it? Like I would go back to that _hippie freak! _I told him that I would rather sleep with _Danny." _Mindy said instantly regretting it.

"Then why don't you?"

"Eww Gwen, don't make me gag in my mouth! It was just an expression of speech. Anyways, that's _why_ I had to put Plan C into place, because Danny overheard my comment and he's been driving me mental all day! This is all Danny's fault! If he didn't piss me off, I wouldn't have gone to coffee and I wouldn't have seen that lying jerk!"

"Can I tell you something that you are not going to like?" Gwen asked.

"You always do, so sure. Shoot girl."

"I think Jeremy is right. Remember how he said that you needed to find a guy that you're attracted to but don't respect when you're looking for a friend with benefits guy?"

"Yeah."

"I think Danny, is the _perfect _guy for you."

"What?" Mindy exclaimed loudly in shock. "Did you get hit on the head today? What's with you? You're acting weird."

"Look, all I'm saying is Danny is _so sexy_-"

"Gross."

"Come on, Min. Don't act like you haven't noticed. If I had eye- candy like him around my office, I'd jump his bones any day!"

"That is so _wrong _on so many levels." Mindy said shaking her head. "Plus you're married!"

"Danny is sexy and there's obviously an _attraction _between the two of you-"

"Where are you getting all of this from?" Mindy asked cutting off her best friend.

"Will you let me finish? Danny is the perfect guy for you in this situation. I bet, if you went into his office right now and told him that you wanted him to be your bed buddy he wouldn't turn you down."

"Five minutes ago you were telling me to give Josh another go."

"Forget Josh, Danny is so much better anyways!"

"That's debatable." Mindy snorted.

"Deny it all you want, Min. But I saw you two together when I brought Riley over for our sleep over. I get this vibe from you two…it's kind of like-"

"-Hatred? Disgust?" Mindy asked cutting off her friend.

"It's kind of territorial."

"_Territorial?_ What does that even mean, Gwen?"

"It's like you're his lioness and his your lion…"

"What?"

"And all these other lions from within and outside the pack may try to get to you, but he will always protect you and you will always belong to him."

"Has Riley been making you watch the discovery channel again?" Mindy said rolling her eyes. "You sound like a crazy idiot right now."

"Look, just talk to Danny. I have a really good feeling about this. I see the way he looks at you and which guy would turn down no strings attached sex?"

Mindy had no idea what to say to that comment. It wasn't very often that her blonde friend made her speechless and now was one of these times.

"Look Min, I have to go, Riley is calling for me." Gwen said when Mindy had still said nothing. "Promise me that you will talk to Danny, okay?

Mindy laughed heartedly, hoping that her friend would get the gist that she now thought she was absolutely crazy. There was no way that she was going to be asking Danny Castellano to be her fuck buddy…_Right?_

"I hope she feels better."

"Just think about what I said, ok?" Gwen said.

"I'll speak to you later." Mindy said before hanging up her phone.

_Gwen had to be delusional to think that she would ever actually consider sleeping with Danny._

The only reason that she had said she would _rather _sleep with Danny, was to emphasise that she would NEVER go back to Brendan Deslaurier!

xoxo

"Dr Lahiri, you're back! Dr Castellano thought you might have been robbed, he was going to send out a search party if you weren't back in five minutes." Shauna said when Mindy walked back into the office.

Mindy scoffed. "That's dramatic." She said rolling her eyes.

"Morgan, they don't sell the Kopi Lawuk…way to go for making me look like an _idiot _at my favourite coffee shop."

"Dammit." Morgan said pounding his fist on the nurses' station. "I really want to get onto selling that stuff; I reckon I could make a fortune there. Anyways, thanks for asking Dr L."

Mindy wanted to tell him that out of all his crazy ideas, this one was by far the worst he had thought of, but decided against it. Instead she headed towards Danny's office. She found Danny concentrating on a patient's file before him. He hadn't yet noticed that she was now standing in the doorway to his office.

_He looks stressed._

There was something about a quiet Danny Castellano that always made Mindy weak at the knees. Sure, she loved their flirty banter and at times when he was his jerky-self Mindy found herself _oddly_ turned on. But at times like this, whenever he was deep in thought, concentrating or a little stressed; she found him almost _sexy._ Gwen was right, she _did_ think about Danny in _that _way; though she would never admit it out loud in a billion years. But honestly who could blame her? Danny was handsome. But he was also a jerk. Hence the nickname she coined him in her head: _The handsome jerk._

Mindy bit down hard onto her lip, there was something about Danny at his office that made her a little wet. She hated to think about it for too long, but she was no stranger to her dirty thoughts inside her head about her co-worker. She had lots of dirty Danny thoughts throughout her time working at Shulman and Associates. One of her favourite and most played out fantasy of him, involved him taking her on his hard wooden office desk…

_Stop it Mindy! _

_Cut it out!_

_This is Danny Castellano!_

The guy who drives you INSANE everyday by his jerky comments and his annoying depressing conversations about there being no such things as true love!

"You know, if you take a picture...it lasts longer." Danny said snapping his head up to look at her.

"Here's your Chai Latte." she said placing it onto his desk and heading towards the door quickly.

"Woah, Mindy wait!" Danny said calling out before she could leave. "You were gone for ages. Is everything alright?"

She didn't want to tell him that she forgot to order his coffee the first time round, as he would only laugh at her determination to _always_ please him.

"I bumped into Josh." She said quickly, when she could not think of another excuse to use.

"Probably why this thing is so cold." Danny said putting down his drink after taking a sip of it. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Was it awkward?"

"What do you think, Danny?" Mindy snapped quickly.

Somehow she instantly regretted it.

"Sorry." She said sighing heavily. "I'm just confused and my head's a _mess_. He cheated on me and hurt me so much, you know…and now he wants me back."

Danny almost choked on his cold drink. "What?"

"He practically begged me to take him back."

"You're not going to do it, right?" Danny asked searching her face for the honest truth.

_Mindy was not the only one that had wanted to kill Josh that night at the Christmas party!_ Danny thought angrily, feeling his knuckles clench a little.

"Of course not! What is with everyone asking me that? I have more _self-respect_ than to go back to a lying, cheating jerk who totally broke my heart into a million pieces and actually made me temporarily stop believing in true love!"

Danny smiled a little at this revelation. The relief washed over him like a waterfall.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." He lied quickly, trying his hardest to contain the big smile that was trying to spread across his face. "How much do I owe you for the drink?"

"Don't worry about it." she said smiling a little. "It was my shout."

"I'll get the next one…I know the best coffee place."

"Okay, when you say things like that I get worried. Remember that crappy pizza shop you took me to on Valentine's Day?"

"I only took you there because I was trying to teach you that you could meet the person you were meant to marry anywhere, when you least expect it…"

"Blah, blah, blah. You met your wife there, I know." Mindy said rolling her eyes playfully.

"I also warned you beforehand that they made the worst pizzas!"

"Look all I'm trying to say is, you don't exactly have the best reputation in my mind for picking places!"

"It's a coffee! How is it even possible to make a bad one?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure that if there was a place in New York that made the _worst _coffees, Danny Castellano would find it!" Mindy said laughing a little.

Danny laughed a little. He was not going to argue with her on that point. It was kind of true. When you're a single, divorced man nearing his forties, you kind of try to get out and about to all these new places for a change of scene. Eating at a new restaurant or finding a new coffee shop was something that he did on a regular basis, so it was quite possible that he would be the one to find the worst coffee in New York City. But to shout Mindy back a crappy coffee was not in his nature. He would never do something like that for someone he cared about so much.

"Since when did you get all fancy and start drinking Chai Lattes?" Mindy asked snapping him out of his thoughts.

He would never admit it out loud, but she was starting to rub off on him. Mindy, with all her herbal teas, Chai Lattes and non-coffee drinks were starting to grow on him and were quickly becoming his favourite alternative caffeine drinks.

"I used to drink them before." He said lying quickly.

"Uh, no you didn't. I know because I specifically remember you saying that _tea _is nothing compared to coffee. Not to mention the time I was drinking one and you asked me since when do they make Lattes for tea? I think '_what a waste', _were your exact words"

Danny smirked, he was pretending to be distracted in his file, for fear of being caught out in his lie.

"Whatever." She said when he said nothing. "I've got work to do."

"Hey Min," Danny called when she started heading out the door. "I'm sorry about Josh."

Mindy smiled. It was probably the nicest thing that Danny Castellano had ever said to her.

_Did we just have a moment? _She thought, biting down onto her bottom lip.

"Thanks." She said before heading back to her office a little confused.

xoxo

The last three hours went past extremely quickly and Mindy found it that time of the day where she put on her coat and said her goodbyes to her colleagues. Morgan and Betsy always travelled home from work together; which made her wonder if there was something _more _than friendship going on there. Shauna's extremely hot cop boyfriend usually came to pick her up from the office and for the few seconds that they lingered there, happily and all loved-up, doing couple things like flirting and their open public displays of affection; Mindy found herself slightly jealous and hating her own _non-existent_ love life. Jeremy was always the first to leave. Sometimes he would burst into her office, saying his goodbyes at a quarter to five that would make her aware that the day was drawing to its end and that she too would be going home very soon. Then there was Danny. He was always the last to leave. No matter how much work Mindy had, no matter if she decided to stay back to work through some of it, no matter if he had a date that night; Danny Castellano was always the last to leave the office.

So it had come as an absolute shock to her that day, when she sat down to her movie novelization of Iron Man2, a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Good book?" Danny asked.

Mindy slowly lowered her book and sighed heavily.

_What the hell was he doing here?_

"What are you doing here?" she hissed back.

He was sitting across from her, in between two really big muscled black guys; which instantly made him look out of place.

"You know if you really love Iron Man that much, you should read the comics." He said when she didn't reply.

"Comics are for _losers."_ She snapped. "Sorry!" she said when an Asian boy reading a Spiderman comic shot up his head and gave her a dirty look.

"Or you could just watch the movie, but I don't know if it's really your thing though. There is a love story between Tony Stark, the guy who plays Iron Man and Pepper Potts, but there's a lot of action and fighting…it's more a guys' kind of movie."

"I've already seen the movie, genius."

"Awesome. So did you like it?"

"Why are you talking to me?" Mindy snapped quickly. "I'm trying to read."

"I see how much reading you are doing. You keep skipping forward in the book." Danny said laughing. "Are you trying to find all the Tony and Pepper bits?"

Mindy would never admit it, but he was absolutely right. She hated that he always knew her so well, even down to the finer details sometimes. It was so fricken annoying.

"No. I think I've read this chapter already…I lost my bookmark…I'm trying to find where I'm up to…"

Danny laughed. He knew she was lying. She was too adorable.

"Do you want to sit with your girlfriend?" the old lady sitting next to Mindy asked, gesturing to Danny.

"What? No, we are not-" Mindy started.

"That would be lovely, thank you." Danny said cutting Mindy off and standing up quickly, to change seats with the old lady.

Mindy sighed heavily and shut her boo closed.

"Don't stop reading on my behalf." Danny said smirking a little.

"Fine!" she snapped, "I was only reading it for the Tony and Pepper bits. There were so many scenes in the movie and I thought they would have this awesome romance in the book as well."

"Hey, at least you're reading." Danny said, gesturing to all the other people so consumed by their iPhones on the train.

Mindy smiled. He was being _nice. _It was something that she was not used to.

"You're acting weird today." Mindy said frowning a little.

"No, I'm not." Danny said hotly.

Mindy sighed and tucked her book into her handbag. What then followed was an awkward silence.

_Say something Mindy._

_This is so awkward!_

"So…uh," she said clearing her throat a little. "You finished early tonight."

"You mean, I finished on time." Danny said correcting her a little.

"Yes, of course but I meant that you _never _finish this early. Do you have a _date_ tonight?" she asked diverting her eyes around the train carriage to avoid his.

"No." Danny said quickly. "I just thought maybe you would want to get a bite to eat and talk."

Mindy frowned. Did she just hear Danny right? Had he finished work early…_for her?_

"So what do you say Lahiri?" Danny asked when she had not said anything. "Are you free tonight?"

"You want to talk?" Mindy asked a little shocked. "About what, exactly?"

"Anything you want. I thought you may want to speak about…Josh."

"Why would I speak to you about Josh, when I have Gwen and Alex for that?"

"Look," Danny said feeling a little frustrated. "I was just trying to be polite. You seemed upset earlier. If you don't want to talk, then fine. I can go home and have a nice relaxing night."

"Okay." Mindy said quickly.

"Okay, I should go home?" Danny asked a little confused.

"Okay, we can talk. But I'm not going to dinner with you because I don't want anyone to see us and think it's a date. Also, we are not getting your recommendations for food, because I am extremely hungry and I do not want a repeat of that disgusting pizza. Which obviously brings us to this, you can come back to my place but I am not cooking for you. I don't ever cook, so don't take it personally. We can order in food, my choice obviously but after we eat, you go. Okay?"

"Sounds good to me." Danny said nodding in agreement.

xoxo

"Make yourself at home." Mindy said when she had unlocked her front door to her apartment. "I'm going to have a quick shower and change into something more comfortable."

Danny gulped a chunk down in his throat. He wished she had not told him that. Images of her curvy, voluptuous body started to fill his head. Images of soapy foam slowly sliding down her dark flesh as she showed naked…

"_Danny?" _Mindy snapped, from the entrance to her bedroom, bring him back to the present moment. "Did you hear what I said?"

Danny shook his head a little. He was kind of relieved that the satchel he usually carried was still around his waist, covering the bulge in his trousers. _Thank Goodness he had not taken that thing off as soon as he had come through the front door,_ he thought to himself.

"I said that there are menus in the first draw of the cupboard near the dishwasher. You can look through them and find us something to eat. I won't be too long."

"Sure." He said a little hoarsely. The hard chunk in his throat still very much there and starting to ache; kind of like the same feeling that the bulge in his pants was making.

Mindy shut her bedroom door behind her and started to hum a tune. Danny listened for a second and then realised that it was _moonriver _from Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was Mindy's favourite Audrey Hepburn movie. She had made him watch it with her once, when he had come over to see how she was feeling when she was sick. She had been off work for a whole week with Gastroenteritis and he had _missed_ her- though he would _never _admit it- so he had come with hot soup, lemonade and DVDs. After she had given him a lecture for picking DVDs that she already had, they had agreed to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's because Audrey was he second favourite actress, the first being obviously Meg Ryan, and she had not seen that movie in about a month- which to her was a very long time.

Danny smiled at the memory of that night. Sitting so close to her on her small couch, their bodies practically touching, the sound of her small sobs as Audrey called for her cat in the rain…

He placed down his satchel on the floor by the couch; and was relieved to see that his member in his pants had calmed down quite a bit. Walking over to the kitchen, he took out the menus that Mindy had mentioned.

_Chinese. Thai. Italian. Thai. Greek. Indian. Thai. Vietnamese. Thai. _He thought as he went through them in his head. _She must really like Thai,_ he thought when he had finished the list.

"Have you decided what you want?" Mindy asked stepping out of her bedroom in a small towel and unpinning her hair that was clipped back.

"Uh-" Danny said, trying to divert his eyes from all the bare brown flesh in front of him.

The bulge in his pants starting to ache again. This time _more_ than before.

"Maybe Thai?" he said pretending to look down at the menus on the bench.

"Ooh, my favourite!" she said, walking up to him now. "This place is the best," she said going through the nine or so Thai menus until she found the one that she wanted.

"Why do you have so many Thai menus, if this place is your favourite?" Danny asked, to keep himself from eyeing out her well-toned body. He was starting to feel his body twitch a little now and he prayed that she would not notice.

"Sometimes they close early," she said shrugging. "and then these people make amazing Pad Thai but not curries, so they are better for that." she said holding out another Thai menu.

Danny nodded, feeling the chunk in his throat rise a little. He really wanted to say something but his brain was blocked with images of what was beneath the towel and he couldn't think of anything else.

"What do you want?" Mindy asked snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" he asked, the chunk in his throat making it really hard to speak now.

Danny wanted nothing more than to pin her against the kitchen bench and make love to her right then and there. _That's what he really wanted._

"What, uh, do you mean?" he asked, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"What do you feel like? Noodles, Stir-fry or Curry?" she said rolling her eyes at him.

"Noodles." He said randomly picking something.

He didn't really care to be completely honest. He had lost his appetite now. All he wanted to do with her involved thoughts that he had gotten used to supressing over all the years of them working together. _Thoughts involving him removing her towel…_

"Awesome! I think I want a Pad Kee Mao. Can you please order me that? Do you mind if you order while I go and put some clothes on? I feel like I'm kind of making you uncomfortable." She said as she walked back towards her bedroom.

"So a Pad Kee Mao?" Danny repeated, still very much taking in as much of her bare body as he could; knowing that the next time he saw her, she would be fully clothed.

"Yes. Thanks Danny." She said before closing her bedroom door again.

Danny groaned a little. He wished he was home. It was a bad idea to come over in the first place. _What the hell was he thinking?_ If he was home right now, he could be having a cold shower and he knew that would do the trick.

Mindy bit down hard onto her bottom lip and smiled. Did she just hear Danny groan loudly from the kitchen? Did her little experiment actually work? She had figured that she would test Gwen's theory that Danny always looks at her. And how else better than to do it with just a towel wrapped around you? She had not come to a definite conclusion yet, but by the way he had nervously twitched and lost his train of concentration; she was almost positive that her plan had worked. Danny Castellano, was a little uncomfortable. Not embarrassed as she originally thought that he might be, but _uncomfortable_. There was a difference in her head between being embarrassed and uncomfortable. Embarrassed would be him telling her to put on some clothes and not knowing where to look, because he did not see her in _that _way. But uncomfortable, that meant that she had gotten under his skin. That she was _tempting _him and he was trying his hardest to look away, to not allow himself to be tempted, to refuse her, because he was scared that he wanted her _too much_. Mindy smiled, because although there was still room for doubt, she was starting to feel like maybe Gwen was right.

xoxo

"Did you order the food? Did they say how long they were going to be? I'm starving." Mindy said when she re-entered into her living room.

Danny was relieved to see that she was actually wearing clothes this time, despite them being pink hello kitty pyjamas. She had taken out her contacts and was wearing those adorable glasses that he loved so much, her hair pinned up in some kind of an oriental bun. She loved irresistible as always and he was starting to doubt whether his presence at her apartment was the best idea.

"They said they would be about half an hour," he said walking towards the couch that she was now sitting on. "What's with the pj's?"

"They are hello kitty!" Mindy said quickly.

"I know. Why are you wearing them? You're not a six year old, Asian girl so I'm a little confused."

"They are my favourite! Riley picked them out." Mindy said flicking on the TV.

"Oh. Well that kind of makes sense now." Danny said quietly under his breath.

She threw a pillow hard at his face.

xoxo

The food had taken longer than they originally had hoped for. They had been watching the news, much to Danny's amusement, because he had always figured Mindy was not a news kind of person.

"Danny, I'm so hungry!" Mindy moaned, when her stomach growled a little loudly. "What's taking them so long?"

"Do you want me to make you something quick to eat?"

"No, it will spoil my dinner."

"I don't mind, I could make you some French toast if you want."

"No thank you, the last guy that cooked for me, set my apartment on fire." Mindy said pushing up her glasses. "Literally."

"Really? I bet it was Tom. He's an idiot… I've seen his pizza video-"

"-It was Josh, actually." Mindy said cutting him off quickly. "But it's fine. Thanks for the offer; I will take you up on this French toast another time, because I am now curious to see how your cooking tastes like."

"You sound surprised to know that I cook." Danny said looking directly at her.

"Well yeah. Not that many guys do and besides, cooking French toast does not make you Jamie Oliver in the kitchen."

"I cook a lot actually. French toast is not my only dish. I can make pastas and lasagne's, any kind of chicken and veal dish…some fish and seafood. I don't cook with a lot of beef or pork, but I know a few dishes." Danny said hotly.

"I suppose your ex-wife would have taught you a fair bit then." Mindy said looking at him.

"My mother did," he said correcting her. "I mostly know how to cook Italian…and a little Greek, but everything I know, my mom taught me. She wanted me to be able to keep my wife happy.." he said trailing off. "I guess that didn't really work out too well…"

"Danny," Mindy said shifting on her couch, until she was facing him. "What happened with your wife?"

She had never asked him that before and she had always wanted to know. In the past whenever she was having a bad day and she was implementing one of her plans A through D, she had figured that he had been so i_ntolerable_ that his wife had left him.

"She cheated on me…" He said sighing heavily. "…with my best friend."

Mindy felt like a piece of her heart had just been shattered. For once in her life she actually felt sorry for Danny Castellano.

"Danny, I'm so sorry." She said reaching out and squeezing his hand. "That really sucks."

Danny placed his hand on top of hers and starting to move his thumb in invisible circles on the top of her hand.

Now she finally understood why he was the way he was. Why he had said that true love was all fiction and something that movies and books sold and was not real. Now she finally got why he was always grumpy, why he avoided dating women, why he hated Valentine's Day as passionately as she did- in her case it was only when she was _single_, but it must have been every year for him!

"Do you still see her?" she asked, trying to stop her mind from dwelling too much on Danny's heartbreak.

"No. She moved to Staten Island with him and they have two kids now. Twins, actually."

"Danny, I'm so sorry." Mindy said again, feeling deeply saddened by the news that she was hearing.

"I know." he mumbled.

All the times that she had made fun of him for being a _divorcee….  
_All the times that she said his wife obviously did something right for _breaking up_ with him…  
All the times she had thought that he had _failed _at his marriage… came flooding into her mind, making her heart ache painfully.

Mindy was actually so disgusted at herself that she could cry. She wanted to apologize to him, _but how?_ She didn't want him to think that she pitied him. Danny was a proud man and she knew that he would not want her feeling sorry for him.

"Did you know that she was cheating?" she asked, feeling her eyes burn a little from the tears she was trying her hardest to fight back.

"I had my suspicions. She would always be calling him, I checked her phone logs on her mobile and I saw his number there. When I asked her about it and she said that she was complaining to him about how I was always working and putting her last. She said that he was her _friend _too."

Mindy sighed heavily. All this time she had thought she had been the only one to be hurt by Josh and his cheating ways; and yet Danny had also experienced something very similar to her. And she had never known….

The knock at the door, alerted them that the food was here and Mindy jumped off the couch quickly.

"Stay, I'll get this." He said squeezing her shoulder a little. "You got coffee earlier."

Mindy smiled and wanted to tell him that Thai was a lot more expensive than a few coffees, but figured that she would just shout him dinner another night. She actually did not mind having him over after all.

xoxo

"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you're the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

Danny had no idea how he had let Mindy talk him into watching When Harry Met Sally for the _millionth_ time. He knew that it was her favourite movie of all time; that was when she wasn't tossing it up between Sleepless in Seattle and You've got Mail. According to Mindy 'it was too hard to pick a favourite Meg Ryan movie when she was so flawless in all three'.

"How are you not crying?" Mindy asked, fighting back a sob as she wiped her tear-stained face with a tissue.

"Maybe because I've seen this movie too many times to count?"

"Whatever." She mumbled, focussing her attention back to the movie.

Danny knew that the movie was close to finishing, he had seen it far too many times with Mindy to not have been familiar with the ending. He just had to get through these last five painful minutes. It was not that the movie was bad, it was a pretty good movie and if he had to choose between the three Meg Ryan movies that she loved so much- it would definitely be this one- the thing that made liking this movie so difficult was that it always seemed to remind him of _Christina._ It was also one of her favourite movies and anything that reminded him of Christina was too hard.

"Billy Crystal is so romantic." Mindy said sighing.

"Billy Crystal is an actor." Danny said dryly.

"Obviously." She said rolling her eyes and pushing up her glasses. "But he is just so perfect in this movie. I cannot imagine anyone else playing the role but him."

Danny gasped. "Not even Tom Hanks?" he asked sarcastically.

He knew this would be a major dilemma for her.

"Danny, that's way too _hard _to call! Like why would you even do that to me? You know how much I love Tom Hanks!"

xoxo

**Author's Note: **

Sorry for the extremely LONG chapter! I didn't mean for it to be this huge, but it kind of turned out like that. The next chapter is almost done. I've had a lot of fun writing it, but I still have some things to add to it… I will do my best to finish it, proof-read it and upload it sometime tomorrow. I just wanted to say thank you for being patient with me while I got over my Gastro and to everyone that wished me well wishes/to get well soon- THANK YOU! For followers of my other two stories, they should also be updated sometime tomorrow. I'm off to work now, so I can't promise any updates tonight.

Paris xo


	4. A blast from the Past

Mindy woke up to the most uncomfortable, aching pain in her neck. There were two things she noticed straightaway that instantly alarmed her. The first that she was not sleeping in her comfy bed. The _second _that she was sleeping on top of Danny Castellano's chest; while he slept completely knocked out on her living room couch.

_What the hell happened last night? _She thought, as she tried to get herself off him without waking him. _What time is it?_

Mindy reached into her couch for her iPhone, she remembered putting it there last night when she was watching the movie, but that was all she could remember at the moment.

_Two minutes until six_, she thought as she unlocked her phone with its passcode. Her daily alarm would be going off anytime soon, to alert her to wake up and get ready for another day of work. She needed to turn that alarm off before it woke up Danny. She also needed to get off him and head back to her bedroom, so she could at least pretend that she had slept in her bed, while he had crashed on her couch.

_Why was he still here? _She thought as she tried to turn off her alarm, but the phone fell through her fingers and landed on the living room floor.

_SHIT! _She really needed to turn that off before it rang, she did not want to be having an awkward conversation with Danny about their sleeping arrangement when he woke up. Mindy shifted her body a little, and Danny's heavy breathing stopped and he moaned something quickly. She sucked in a small breath and prayed silently that he would continue sleeping. When she heard his heavily breathing resume, she reached her body forward and started feeling the ground for her phone.

_Where the hell is it? _

Just then her alarm went off, sounding loudly and making her and Danny jump a little.

"Mindy?" he asked, opening his eyes.

"Morning Danny." She said, wanting to mentally kick herself for dropping her stupid phone.

"Do you mind turning that annoying alarm off?" he asked, squinting his eyes a little.

"Sure," she said getting herself off his body and reaching down to pick up her phone.

"What time is it?"

"Six am." She said when she had managed to shut off her alarm.

"Why does you alarm go off at six am?" he said groaning loudly.

"Because that's the time that I get ready."

"You don't start until like nine am most days, so why get up so early?"

"I need to do my hair and makeup. Pick out what I'm going to wear, find a coat to match my shoes and bag…a lot goes into looking good Danny!" Mindy exclaimed. "I can't look like a model without the effort!"

"It takes you three hours to get ready for work?" he asked. "It takes me twenty minutes!"

"You're a guy." Mindy said crossing her hands over her chest. "The most you guys have to do is like… shave every day." She said rolling her eyes a little.

"My neck is so sore!" he said sitting up on the couch and trying to massage it.

"Mine's worse. At least you had a pillow."

"Why is my chest wet? Is that… _drool?_" he asked touching the wet patch on his black shirt.

Mindy's eyes widened in shock. She did not just drool all over Danny Castellano's chest. _How embarrassing!_ She wished that the floor she was standing on top of would open itself up and sallow her whole.

"Danny, I'm so sorry." She said when she could not think of a way to kill herself quickly enough.

He smirked, shrugging his shoulders a little. "Never mind."

"What? What is it?" she asked, annoyed that she could always tell whenever he was thinking of something smart to say.

"Nothing."

"Tell me, Castellano. I know you're dying to get it off your chest."

"You were _dreaming _about me again." He said smiling a little smugly.

"No, I wasn't." she snapped quickly.

"It explains the drool." He said winking at her.

She wanted to kill him.

xoxo

"So I guess I will see you at work Mindy." Danny said leaning against the doorway to her apartment.

"Yep." She said nodding awkwardly.

"I had a good time last night."

"Woah, Danny." Mindy said quickly and a little defensively, "I don't know what you think _happened _between the two of us, but we watched movies and then fell asleep on the couch…that's it. We did not have… you know…" she said trailing off awkwardly and avoiding his eyes.

"Sex?" Danny asked finishing off her sentence.

Mindy, too embarrassed to talk or even to look in Danny's direction just nodded and looked down the empty hall.

"I know we didn't do anything. I meant I had fun talking and watching stuff with you. It was _almost _nice. We should do it again, sometime."

"Really?" she asked enthusiastically and looking up at him quickly.

"Yes, I can be fun too, despite what you seem to believe."

"Well, I had a great time too Danny, so you are welcome over anytime."

"I should get going." He said running his fingers through his messy hair. "I need to go home and freshen up before work…you know, change my favourite shirt that is soaked with your drool."

Mindy sighed loudly. "Danny! We _finally_ had a nice moment without arguing our hearts out and you ruined it with your mean comment." She said pushing him out of her doorway. "I'll see you at work, Castellano."

Mindy closed the door before he could say anything else and leaned against it for back support. How was it possible that Danny stayed the whole night? She couldn't even remember much after When Harry Met Sally. She really needed to stop drinking wine, it was really messing with her head.

xox

"Morning, Betsy, Morgan." Mindy said as she walked into Shulman and Associates three hours later.

"Morning Dr L." Morgan chirped as he spun around in his desk chair.

"Morgan, for the last time, when you spin around in circles it makes me dizzy! Please stop." Betsy snapped sounding like a cranky mother of a two year old child.

"But I'm trying to see how many spins it takes before I get dizzy when I stand up."

Mindy scoffed, rolling her eyes at Morgan's immaturity and headed towards her office.

She took off her blue coat and hung it on the back of her chair and started her computer.

"WHERE IS HE?" a woman outside yelled furiously at the top of her lungs. "WHERE THE HELL IS DANNY CASTELLANO!"

Mindy jumped out of her chair and headed to see what all the commotion was about.

"Excuse me, Miss." Morgan said standing up out of his chair quickly, before smashing into the corner of the reception desk. "Okay, _now _I'm dizzy. Ouch."

"Can I help you?" Betsy asked, trying her hardest to sound mean and assertive, but not doing a very good job.

"Yeah you can. Where is that son of a bitch Danny Castellano?"

"Woah, excuse me." Mindy said stepping forward. "Hi, I'm Dr Lahiri and you cannot be talking like this or screaming for that matter. You are going to scare away our patients."

"Like I give a shit about your patients!" she snapped quickly. "Can anyone tell me where Danny is, because I have a bone to pick with him!"

"Christina?" Danny asked coming out of the break room with a hot coffee in his hand.

"What the HELL is this?" she asked furiously holding up a letter in her hands. "You're _still _in love with me?!"

"NO. What?" Danny asked quickly.

"What the hell were you _thinking_ sending me a letter? I'm married! I have children! I don't love you anymore!"

"OH SHIT!" Morgan said covering his mouth with his hands.

"I did not send you a letter." Danny said defensively, crossing his hands over his chest hotly.

"Oh really? So what's this then? 'Dear Christina, when I came home and saw you in bed with-"

"-What? Let me see that." Danny said snatching it out of her hands quickly. "How did you get this?"

"You sent it to me, you stupid lying jerk! And now Franco, he wants a divorce because he thinks that we are getting back together…so thanks a lot, you ruined my marriage!" she said hitting him with her handbag a couple of times.

"Look Christina, I wrote this letter a long time ago, but I did not send it to you. Okay?"

"Like I'm going to believe that pathetic excuse!" she said rolling her eyes.

"Christina, can we please take this somewhere more _private?_ Can you step inside my office, so we can talk?"

xoox

"So that's Dr Castellano's ex-wife." Betsy said when Danny and Christina had gotten inside his office.

"Yeah, poor Danny." Mindy said sighing heavily.

"I've done something really bad." Morgan said pacing up and down the reception area. "How can you be so _stupid,_ Morgan?" he asked, hitting himself hard on the head.

"Woah, relax Morgan. Seriously chill! Why are you hurting yourself?" Mindy said grabbing his hand, to stop him from hitting himself.

"Dr L, I did something really bad. I sent Christina that letter. I found it in Dr Castellano's desk one Saturday while we were working and I sent it. I'm the reason she is here. Do you think he will get mad and fire me?"

xoox

"Christina, calm down. I did not send you that letter. I wrote this," Danny said holding up the letter in his hands. "But I never sent it to you. I had it in this draw." He said, rummaging through the contents of the draw. "It has to be in here somewhere…what the hell?"

"Why are you lying for? You sent it…you are obviously not over me. So else would you write me a letter in the first place?"

"I wrote that letter two years ago, Christina. I am definitely over you now."

"The fact that you kept it for that long; just shows that you are _not_ over me, Danny."

"Look, I don't know who sent it. Maybe a cleaner saw the letter on my desk and decided to mail it…I don't know. All I know is that I'm sorry if Franco saw it and if you need me to call him to tell him what happened…I will."

"You will, because I swear to God Danny, if you do not fix this…you are going to hell."

"I'm going to hell? You cheated on me with my best friend! If anyone's going to hell, it would be you."

"You are going to hell because you spilt up a family!"

"We were a family too!" Danny yelled back furiously, making Christina jump a little. "Sure, we didn't have kids but we were still married!" he said a little more calmly when he had regained his composure.

"I love Franco. I love him so much and in ways that you would not imagine. You better fix this mess that you started, because if I lose my husband over this, you will be sorry Danny!"

xoox

"Morgan, that is not cool! Why did you send it? That's such a horrible thing to do!" Mindy sighed heavily, feeling her heart ache a bit for the predicament that Danny was now in, due to Morgan's utter stupidity.

"I'm sorry Dr L." he said sincerely.

"I am not the one you should be apologizing too."

"Is Dr Castellano mad? He seems mad. He is going to fire me when he finds out, right? That totally sucks because we were sort of becoming best friends."

"Yes, Morgan that's what sucks the most in this situation!" Mindy snapped sarcastically. "You need to go in there and fix this." Mindy said pointing towards Danny's office. "Go on."

"I can't." he said before biting his fist in his mouth. "I really need this job. I can't afford to be unemployed; my grandma depends on me working."

"Morgan what you did was a terrible thing, but right now Danny is in this big mess that you've created…you owe it to your _friend _and _boss _to tell them the truth."

"You're right." He said pacing up and down the floor again. "I'm going to tell them that I sent the letter."

"Be brave, Morgan." Betsy said.

"I'm just going to say that I did it. I sent the letter." Morgan chanted as he paced up and down the office.

"You can do this." Mindy said pushing him towards Danny's office.

"Dr L, what exactly do I say?" Morgan asked, freezing up.

Mindy groaned loudly.

xoox

"He is not picking up his phone. He is probably screening my calls, which is ironic." Danny said hanging up his cell phone.

"Care to fill me in on how it's ironic, exactly?" Christina asked raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at her ex-husband.

"Well, he's the one that ruined our friendship in the first place, you know when he had sex with _my wife!"_

"Look, I didn't come here to reminisce about the past, or to see you still hung up on me."

"I'm not." Danny snapped quickly.

"Oh yeah, so if I told you _hypothetically_ that if I dumped Franco we could get back together you would…_not _want that?" Christina asked crossing her hands over her chest.

"No. Christina, like I told you before. I am over you. I've moved on. I've got a girlfriend and we are going steady. You should see us. I slept at her house last night. I'm having a blast doing the whole dating _thing _again."

"I don't believe you."

"Well that's too bad, because its true." Danny said trying his best to sound convincing.

"I'd like to meet this 'girlfriend'!" Christina said using her fingers as inverted commas.

"Why?"

"To prove that you are lying! Look Danny, I know you better than you think I do. You're sweating! You always do that when you're lying!"

"No, I don't."

"Danny, so you're still in love with me?…that's fine. We were together for a long time. It's only natural that you still have feelings for me."

"Christina, believe me when I say that I've moved on and I'm in a healthy, happy and stable relationship. In fact, you can meet her if you want...she works here." Danny said, instantly regretting the words that had come out of his mouth.

"She does?"

"Yes, that's how we met. We, uh, we meet at work, became friends and now we are dating."

"I would love to meet her. Is she working today?"

"She is." Danny said grimacing a little. "But you really don't have to meet her, it might be a little awkward, you know given our history."

"Are you kidding me? I've wanted nothing more than you to move on from me and to be happy, so I'd love to meet her. Can you go and get her?"

"Uh, sure." Danny said clearing his throat nervously. "Wait here a second." He said before heading for the door to his office.

"Danny!" Mindy said, rubbing his arm up and down when he had stepped outside of his office. "How's it going? Is everything alright? You look pale."

"Look, I need a favour from you." he said grabbing her gently by the arm and pulling her to the side, so that Morgan and Betsy could not hear what he needed to ask her.

"Sure what is it?" she asked, her face full of genuine concern.

"I've got myself into a bit of a tricky situation and I really need your help. Can you please just come with me into my office and follow my lead?"

"Sure, but what's going on? Why won't you tell me?"

"Because I'm a hundred precent sure that if I told you now, you would not go through with it and I really need _your _help." He said walking her back towards his office. "Please, all you have to do is nod and agree."

"Fine." She said as she walked into Danny's office with him.

"So Christina, this is Mindy." Danny said placing his hands upon her shoulders and squeezing them gently.

"You're dating the _fat _Indian girl?" Christina asked in disbelief.

"WHAT?" Mindy exclaimed loudly and Danny elbowed her hard. "I mean… what are you talking about, I'm not fat! I'm hot, lady…okay? Don't be jealous of my curves, just because you clearly do not have any."

Danny laughed nervously. He did that whenever he couldn't handle a situation and this was the perfect time. Mindy on the other hand was ready to pick up the lamp at the corner of Danny's desk and beat the shit out of Christina, for breaking Danny's heart and for calling her fat.

xoox

**Author's note:**

Firstly, sorry about the DELAY in the updates! (I will get around to my other story too)

I'm feeling a lot better now, but I have been so flat out with work. I'm a manager and I have so much responsibility that's its exhausting and so stressful! When I come home from work I'm dead tired and I just want to sleep.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. It took a lot out of me writing it when I've been up since 5am.

There may be another chapter in a couple of hours, depending on how I'm feeling after I have a bath.

Until next time,

Paris xoox


	5. Two sides to every story

"So how long have you two been dating for?" Christina asked sceptically.

"Two weeks." Mindy said quickly.

"Two months." Danny said at the same time.

Christina raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at them and then smirked.

Danny knew that Christina was not buying any of this. She was too smart to be fooled. He had really gotten himself into a hard situation and was coming out of it a lying idiot.

"There's some uncertainty about the length of our relationship," Danny said losing his tie a bit and nervously sweating. "Because we uh, tend to disagree about when it started-"

"-We started off as fuck buddies." Mindy said cutting Danny off quickly, making Danny choke out loud a little, before regaining his composure again.

"Fuck buddies?" Christina asked. "That doesn't sound like you at all, Danny."

"Yeah, well I've changed. There's a lot that you don't know about me, Christina."

"He has changed." Mindy said reaching out for his hand to squeeze it. "He's happier, he's more confident, he's _sexier_…do you know how _hard _I had to work to win this guy over? He had three other girls in this office interested in him and that's not including the other women in this building on other floors."

Danny smirked a little smugly. As soon as this interrogation was over with Christina, he was going to give Mindy the biggest hug and treat her to lunch- which was a pretty big thing for him, because Danny Castellano was NOT a hugger.

"I still don't buy it." Christina said snapping Danny back to reality. "Firstly, you Danny are worse than a girl…when we were dating you played the romance, not sex card. You wooed me, brought me flowers every date and paid for my every meal. I had to practically beg you for sex and even then you wanted to wait until the moment was right and perfect."

Mindy shot Danny a quick look. She was still holding his hand, and for some strange reasons she really liked it and had no intention of letting it go.

Danny opened and closed his mouth quickly, as if to rebuke something, but Christina continued quickly.

"So now you expect me to believe that you are dating someone by the way who is _not _your type? I call bluff."

"It's not bluff." Danny hissed angrily. He was starting to clench Mindy's fist a little too tightly because he needed something to keep him grounded from lashing out and strangling his cheating ex wife.

"Ummm what do you mean, not his type? That sounds totally racist." Mindy said starting to get really annoyed by this woman.

"I mean, he usually go for Italian girls…that's all." Christina said. "I didn't know that he was branching out to different nationalities now. Have you even introduced Mandy to your mother, Danny?"

"It's Mindy." She said hotly. "And yes he has."

"That must have been a huge shock to her then…to see her son with a non-Italian."

"Actually she was relieved, seeing the last Italian broke his heart when she cheated on him with his best-friend! How can you live with yourself by the way? Don't you Catholics believe in hell? I'm a Buddhist and even I know that marriage is sacred!"

"There's two sides to every story, Mandy. Did he tell you that I was practically his mistress?"

"What? Danny were you cheating on her too?" Mindy asked surprized.

"No quite. Danny would never cheat. He is a very loyal lover. I meant that he was always putting work first. It almost became like his work was more important and he was married to it, rather than me. I felt like I was his mistress, because whenever I wanted my husband…whenever I needed him, he was working and unavailable. So I turned to the person that would be there for me in my time of need. Franco was always there for me. Whenever I called, he listened. He would come over and comfort me. He knew what to say to help me through a bad day at work. He gave me the time of the day, when I needed it at that moment. Franco was the person I needed when my husband was too busy neglecting me."

"So let me get this straight…" Danny said clenching his jaw a little, in deep thought. "You cheated on me and yet you still blame me for your infidelity?"

"How can I not, Danny? You were never there for me! You were always working!"

"I'm sorry but that is not a good enough reason." Mindy said shaking her head. "And if I was God, I would still send you to hell when you died." She said diverting her eyes awkwardly away.

"Look Buddhist, I didn't ask for your advice. Why don't you just go and reincarnate into a worm or something?"

"Wow, racist!" Mindy said loudly. "And for the record, when I reincarnate I will be an exotic butterfly…or a baby tiger. I haven't really decided yet, but that's not the point. The point is, cheating is bad and there's NEVER a justified reason to validate what you did. Danny is not to blame here, I'm sorry. You are Christina. You cheated. You threw away your marriage. It was your decision to cheat."

"THANK YOU MINDY!" Danny exclaimed loudly.

"With that said, Danny should have paid more attention to you in your marriage but he is a very good doctor and he is very committed to his work. It's something that every doctor, lawyer…pretty much anyone with a demanding career lifestyle goes through when they marry or try to start a family. It's all about a healthy work-personal life balance and that takes a long time to master. But you still should not have cheated. There are other things you could have done. Like talk to Danny. Or marriage counselling…you do not run into the arms of another man when things get hard."

Danny looked over at Mindy and smiled. He was so thankful that she was here with him during this difficult situation. He had no idea how he would have coped if he was left to face Christina on his own. Mindy was really supporting him in ways that he feared he would never be able to thank her for.

"I didn't come here to talk about relationship advice." Christina said unamused. "I came here, because your so called "_boyfriend"_ sent me this letter."

"Danny didn't send you that letter." Mindy said quickly.

"Well somebody did, because it was sent to my house and my husband opened and read it before he gave it to me."

"Look Christina, I'm really sorry if this is causing problems in your relationship with him-"

"-You still can't say his name can you?" Christina asked cutting him off and crying out in disbelief. "It's Franco. Danny he was your best-friend for 15 years and he wants to be friends with you again. "

"That's never going to happen dude." Mindy mumbled under her breath.

"Look, I have an appointment at the salon and I don't have time for this. You, better fix this." she said pointing at Danny. "Call him, go and see him…I don't care, but I want things to go back to normal."

"I'll keep trying to call him." Danny said nodding in agreement.

"I would say it was a pleasure to meet you, Mandy but it was _not."_

"MINDY!" she snapped. "Have you had your head checked recently, is not that hard a name to be getting it wrong all the time! You might have a brain tumour! I'd check that out if I were you."

Danny grunted and smirked a little. Christina rolled her eyes and headed towards the door to Danny's office. And without another word, she was gone.

"Thanks so much for everything, Mindy." Danny said when they were left alone to themselves in his office.

"Hey man, don't worry about it." she said casually. "She was a real bitch though. Was she like that when you were married?"

"Kind of." He said laughing a little. "But seriously, I don't know how I would have gotten through that without you with me."

"I'm just sorry that you had to see her again."

"Yeah, and the worst part is I didn't send that stupid letter."

"I know, Danny." She said squeezing his hand a bit. Danny laughed loudly.

"What? What is it?" she asked frowning a little.

"She's gone."

"So?" Mindy said, still not getting the point.

"You can stop holding my hand now." Danny said.

Mindy blushed a varieties of colours from crimson to beetroot-red and dropped his hand quickly.

"Oh. Sorry." She mumbled quietly. "Well I should be getting back to work."

"Mindy," Danny said pulling her arm, quickly before she could leave.

They were standing so close to each other now, their faces barely inches apart. Mindy searched into Danny's longing eyes for an explanation to why they were standing so close together. She felt her heart rate accelerate faster than it had that one time she had used the elliptical trainer at the gym. She prayed silently that he would not see how much her chest heaved, rising and falling almost rhythmically in anticipation. _Was he going to kiss her? _

Danny wanted to kiss her.

No, he wanted to push her back against his desk and do very bad things to her; but he knew he had to contain his urges. He didn't even know if she felt the same way as he did and he was not going to freak her out. Or ruin their workplace relationship over this. Mindy had gotten so far under his skin that she was the only woman he ever thought about now. Sure, he had his fair share of dates with other attractive women; but they all ended the same way- he was never satisfied so he sent them home. Mindy was different. She didn't just want sex. She was a hopeless romantic and she like Christina had been, liked to be wooed and made to feel special. She was worth it though, Christina was not.

Danny saw the way that Mindy's chest rose and fell. The way that her eyes silently begged him to kiss her. It was almost enough to drive him wild. _Did she want him to kiss her as well? _

Mindy was starting to get really impatient. _What the hell was going on? Why were they standing so close? _She could practically feel the hot breath that was leaving Danny's lips.

_Danny's lips._ Mindy thought, smiling a little and looking directly at them. Lips that throughout her time at Shullman and Associates had captivated her thoughts! Mindy had no real first hand affirmation of this, but she had always believed that Danny Castellano was a terrific kisser. _How could he not be with those lips that were to die for? _They were plump and juicy. Big enough to make any girl squirm with jealousy and wish that they had something remotely close to them.

Mindy wanted him bad. Her fantasy of him taking her on his table, with his rugged hands all over her body, came flooding back into her mind and she needed it to happen. She was almost sick of wanting for Danny to man up and kiss her. _That's why they were standing so close, right?_ She thought to herself, trying to justify the situation they were now in. Mindy knew that Danny wanted to kiss her as badly as she wanted him too; but he was just too shy. She also knew that she should just patiently wait for him to make the move…but she was sick of waiting. She was going to make it happen…

Mindy's lips crushed up against Danny's so suddenly; that she had almost taken _herself_by surprise too, despite knowing full well what she was doing. Danny moaned loudly in excitement, cupped her face so lovingly with both of his hands and opened his mouth a little wider to deepen the kiss. Mindy instantly moaned at this, which made Danny's lips curve into a big smile. He couldn't _believe_ that he was kissing her. It almost felt so unreal. Not to mention that she had kissed him, which meant that somewhere beneath her _Castellamo _jokes, she had some kind of feelings for him as well.

Mindy's theory was right. Danny Castellano was a terrific kisser. Terrific, actually did not give him the recognition he deserved; because nobody had kissed her as good as Danny was doing right now. Mindy felt her legs begin to buckle from the excitement that was spreading across her body. She didn't want this kiss to end, but at the same time she was dying to tell Gwen about it.

Just then, Danny pulled apart for some air and Mindy blushed. She had not thought about what it would be like after their kiss. _Were they meant to talk about it or should she just leave and go back to her office?_

Danny ran his fingers through his hair and smirked playfully. "Wow."

"So…" Mindy said a little awkwardly.

"That was…" he said trailing off and nervously shifting his feet a little.

"You're a really good kisser." Mindy said instantly regretting the words. "I always thought you would be into weird stuff like biting and sucking, but _wow_."

Danny laughed a little. "I've kind of, uh, wanted to kiss you for a while." He said looking at her in the eyes for the first time since their kiss.

"You have?" Mindy asked surprised.

Danny laughed again. "Okay, there's no need to get so full of yourself."

"I'm not full of myself." She said hotly. "Danny, if you wanted to kiss me for a while, why haven't you?"

"I dunno. Maybe because I don't want to ruin our work place environment… Maybe because you have a different boyfriend every week…or maybe it's because you haven't noticed me in that way."

"I've noticed you in that way, Danny…" she said trailing off.

"You have?" he asked quickly. Now it was his turn to be surprised.

"Yeah, I mean I see you _every day_, the thought crosses my mind from time to time."

Danny smiled and instantly crushed his lips against hers again, taking her by surprise. Mindy felt a tingly sensation spread over her body. It felt as if _every nerve_ in her body was being _awakened _for the first time. She had never experienced a kiss like this before! All the guys she had dated before lacked the technique that Danny seemed to have. Mindy felt her stomach flutter when Danny's tongue found hers gently. She moaned loudly, unable to control her emotions anymore. She _wanted__ him_ so badly; she didn't care to _hide_ it any longer. The kisses had started off first so sweet and loving; but now they had somehow turned into something more _passionate and hungry__._ Mindy bit Danny's lip playfully and it was his turn to moan with excitement. He wanted her so fricken badly, it was _killing_ him. He wanted to push her against his desk and hear her scream his name- but they were at work and he had no intention of freaking out the people in the office or their patients in the waiting room. Danny sucked at Mindy's bottom lip and it made her moan again in delight. Neither wanted to pull away for air again; they were too caught up with the feeling of excitement that came from the amazing kisses. Mindy flicked her tongue against Danny's; and it drove him so _wild._ He moaned a lot louder than the first time, and he started to suck again onto her bottom lip. Danny's technique was starting to make Mindy buckle at the knees. Her heart was pounding louder than before and she silently prayed that Danny wouldn't notice. Danny finally pulled away for some air, but Mindy hungrily pulled at his shirt roughly and started to kiss him again. As Danny deepened the kiss, Mindy moaned so loudly, that Danny stopped and laughed at her against her lips.

"I swear to God, Castellamo if you ruin this glorious moment with your immaturity, I will kill you." she said against his lips.

"My immaturity? That's almost ironic, Min."

"Just shut up and kiss me."

Danny cupped her face again and continued to kiss her passionately. Their kisses had gotten so hot now, that they had managed to bump into the end of Danny's desk. This was really going to kill him now, because all he wanted to do was lift her onto the table and make passionate love to her.

"Oh, sorry." A familiar voice said quickly, making Danny and Mindy pull apart. "I forgot my coat." Christina said walking over to where they were standing and picking it up from the chair she had left it on.

"I didn't even notice it." Danny said pulling away from Mindy and crossing his hands over his chest.

"Well I'll be going now." She said walking towards the door to Danny's office.

Christina paused at the entrance and spun around. "I take it back. You guys make a very nice couple." She said before leaving them alone and walking away.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hey lovely readers. So I am really not too sure whether I like this chapter or not. If you could please leave me so feedback on it, it might put me out of my misery. There is a possibility that I might delete it if people do not like it or if I don't get reviews on it, because I am in two minds on this update.

I had an idea for this story and somehow I've gotten off track so I'll have to work really hard in the next couple of chapters to put it back on track, because at the rate its going its turning into something else lol.

Anyways, reviews would be appreciated =]

I might post another chapter tonight.

Paris xoox


	6. Clueless

"Betsy," Jeremy said leaning across the reception desk to get her attention. "I was wondering if you had any plans for tonight?"

"I was going to visit Dr Shullman. Why? Dr Reed would you like to come?" she asked beaming excitedly. "Nobody in the office will go with me and I think he might find it strange if I go by myself."

"No." he said sighing heavily. "Though, do say hello for me and tell him that we miss him very much."

"If you miss him, you would _come_ and see him." she mumbled quietly, focusing her attention back to her paperwork on her desk.

"Can't you visit him some other time?" Jeremy asked, hopefully.

"This is the only time that I've scheduled. I'm really busy over the next couple of weeks and I wanted to see him early in the New Year."

"Fair enough. What about over the weekend? Are you free on Saturday then?"

"Saturdays are no good for me. I take my neighbour shopping. She's old, so I drive her to the shops and do her groceries, then I clean her apartment. I'm usually too tired to do anything else afterwards, so I just stay at home and watch tv."

"Do you clean and shop for her every Saturday?"

"Pretty much." She said without looking up from one of the files that she was working on.

Jeremy smiled at the kind gesture. Betsy really was _one _of a kind! He had yet to find a more sweeter girl than her and he had been through his share of a lot of women!

"How about Sunday?" he asked persistently.

"I don't know yet, Dr Reed." She said pulling her eyes away from her file to look at him. "I should be, I guess."

Jeremy sighed heavily. He had always expected her to seem more _excited _when he asked her out. This was not at all playing out like he had planned it in his head. Sure they had been flirting for weeks and he was doing his very best to give her time to let it all sink in. Betsy was a smart girl, but at times she was so clueless that it drove him totally insane. Even though he was_ directly_ hitting on her, she was still probably in her own little world thinking that they were just having a nice, friendly chat. He knew that she liked him just as much as he liked her. Shauna had filled him in on it one day and Morgan cracked jokes about the subject daily. He had even asked Danny for advice. Danny Castellano- who had the _worst _track record with women- had even managed to see that Betsy was totally oblivious to his feelings for her.

"I was thinking of going to Central Park on Sunday, would you be up to _joining _me? We could have a picnic?" Jeremy said, trying to sound romantic and docile.

"I don't like picnics. I hate ants, not to mention that I rarely walk through Central Park. The last time I was there, I was mugged and the plants upset my hayfever allergies. But have fun, Dr Reed." She said sweetly, smiling at him.

Jeremy smiled fakely, thanked her and decided to head back to his office. She really was not getting the hint and he would retreat for a more convenient time.

"Betsy!" Morgan said poking her hard in the ribs.

"Ouch Morgan! Why did you do that for?" she shrieked, holding the spot where he had jabbed her.

"Are you insane? Dr Reed was practically _begging _you to go out with him and you said _no_?"

"What?" she asked cluelessly, frowning a little. "No, he didn't ask me out. He just wanted me to go to a _lame_ picnic in the park."

"Firstly, picnics are _not _lame…they are one of the most romantic things that you can do for a girl. You being _one _should know and appreciate that already! Secondly, Central Park is not just any park! It's one of the most _fabulous_ places in the world and thirdly, Dr Reed totally digs you and you rejected him? Do you even though what pretty guys like him do when girls turn them down?" he asked, gesturing his thumb across his neck.

"He is going to cut my throat?" she shrieked loudly.

"Your throat?" he laughed, rolling his eyes at his friend and shaking his head in disagreement. "No, not yours. His!"

"Dr Reed won't kill himself because I said no to a picnic. That's just _silly."_ She said hotly, trying to seem more interested in her file in front of her.

"You never know. It's Friday today. This could be the _last _day that we see him, seeing that there's a weekend before Monday work. And if the rejection hits him hard enough, he might not live through the long and painful weekend."

Betsy did not say another word. She pretended to write some notes on her file in front of her, while her mind was really fixated on Morgan's alarming words.

_He had to be joking right?_

xoox

Mindy had left Danny's office shortly after their kiss. She had found it too weird to be around him at the present moment; because for some _unknown _reason, she now found anything that Danny Castellano did to be _unbelievably sexy._

AND SHE WANTED HIM BAD.

Being back in her own office and to her own thoughts was almost as bad as being around him. Though he was not in front of her, taunting silently in ways that he would _neve_r know; he was still very present in her thoughts. This was obvious by the amount of work she had managed to achieve since their steamy hook-up.

That was NONE to be precise.

She had about a million questions to ask him, but she dared not to go into his office again. She couldn't have another repeat of the morning's antics; especially when they were at work of all places! If Jeremy or anyone else in the office saw them like that, before they figured out what they exactly wanted from each other, things could get a lot more complicated than they need be.

Mindy's message alert on her phone went off loudly, pulling her away from her thoughts about Danny. She reached across her desk for her iPhone quickly and read the message.

**I figured when you didn't message or call me the other day that you must have deleted my number.**

**It was really nice to see you again and I'd love to get together with you or dinner or drinks.**

**I just need to talk to you.**

**I know that I hurt you…I messed up Mindy. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.**

**I know you probably don't believe me, but I love you.**

**Please give us one more chance…I'd do ANYTHING to prove it to you.**

**By the way, this is obviously Josh xoxo**

Mindy rolled her eyes and put her phone down on her desk. _That guy had some fricken nerve! _She wanted nothing more than to call him up and yell at him, but she was not in the mood to think of him right now. She had better thoughts to get back to. Thoughts involving Danny Castellano and all the places throughout the office where they could make passionate love once everyone else had left Shullman and Associates at night.

xoox

"Alright." Betsy said barging into Jeremy's office and alarming him a little.

"Betsy, is there something wrong?" he asked, looking up from the chart he was reading and frowning a little.

"Alright, I'll go to that picnic with you." she said hotly and nodding her head at him curtly. "Just don't do anything silly over the weekend to…_harm _yourself in any way, okay?"

And with that, she was out of his office before he had a chance to figure out what the hell she was talking about.

xoox

"Franco, it's Danny. I've called you about twenty times, for God's sake! At some point you are going to have to answer my calls and talk to me. Look, I'm not interested in Christina anymore. That letter was from two years ago. Please call me back and we can talk. Bye."

Danny threw his phone to his desk and sighed heavily. He was getting pretty sick and tired of Franco's blatant _immaturity._ He was the one that stole Christina off him in the first place and even then, Danny had taken his calls to allow his "friend" to explain his version of events. Now, when he needed to get into contact with him, he was screening calls? It was so pathetic that it made Danny swell up with anger.

Danny's day at been so overwhelming. What with Christina's outburst and confrontation –which he was not at all prepared for- and what with Mindy kissing him to his complete and utter shock… to say that he had had a very stressful day was the understatement of the year!

He didn't regret kissing Mindy. He had enjoyed it much _more _than he had thought he would. No matter how many times he had played out what their first kiss would be like; never would he in a MILLION YEARS imagine that Mindy would be the one to kiss him! He had always thought she was totally oblivious to the possibility of them as anything other than _co-workers! _Not to mention that he had secretly believed Mindy _still _harboured some very unnatural thoughts about his co-worker Jeremy.

Mindy kissing him completely unexpectedly had eliminated his theory that she still had feelings for Jeremy. This made Danny feel like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders and he leaned back into his desk chair, smiling contently to himself. For once in his life he was not at all threatened or jealous of Jeremy Reed.

He wanted to see her. Well, he wanted to kiss her more than anything really. But he didn't want to scare her off or overwhelm her. As much as it killed him to exercise self-control, he figured that she might need some space to process everything.

After Christina had come back for her coat, Mindy had excused herself and left his office in record timing. They had bumped into each other once since then in the corridor outside the reception desk. Danny had seen her while they were getting charts and she had awkwardly called him "buddy", patted his arm and quickly headed back into her office without another word or glance his way and shut the door behind her.

In all the time that he had worked with her, Mindy rarely shut the door unless she was having an existential crisis that was too big for her to deal with; or unless she was making out with one of her many boyfriends that Danny hated.

Seeing that he door was closed and with no one else inside, instantly put Danny into one of his worst case scenario, paranoia modes where he assumed that she was having one of her crisis's because she had now regretted kissing him. Feeling his body become excessively sweaty from the negative thoughts in his head, he tried to combat the negative with positives ones like…

_She kissed you. She wanted to kiss you. _

But what if she was in her room right now, lying down on her floor and regretting the kiss? He thought to himself as his heart raced a thousand miles an hour. What if she had decided that it was a mistake and they should just remain friends, so as to not complicate their work place relationship?

Danny loosened his tie a little, suddenly feeling the sensation that it was suffocating him as a heatwave of sweat spread over him.

He needed to go and see her. Stuff giving her space and patience! He was not going to allow Mindy Lahiri second guess herself into thinking that their kiss was a mistake!

xoox

"Morgan, can I have a word?" Jeremy asked walking into the nurses' office and shutting the door behind him quickly.

"Sure Dr Reed." He said placing a tub filled with blood onto a metal tray. "What's up?"

"Do you know anything about _why_ Betsy agreed to come with me on my picnic? I was certain that she was not going to go after she told me that she was allergic to plants and hated ants."

"I talked her into it." Morgan said beaming, as a big smile played across his face from ear to ear.

"Yes, I figured that you would have played a part in it. Though, I always assumed that she would appear more excited if I ever asked her out on a date. She seemed more annoyed…mad even, when she told me that she would come along. It was almost as if it was an obligation for her and I don't want her to feel like I'm burdening her. I want her to enjoy our date. I want it to be perfect, you know?" Jeremy said rambling on.

"Look Dr Reed, you know how Betsy is. She's smart and dumb at the same time. She exactly like Cher, from my favourite movie Clueless-"

"Your favourite movie is _Clueless?"_ he asked cutting Morgan off quickly and raising an arched eyebrow at his friend.

"Uh yeah! Why_ wouldn't_ it be? It's funny and romantic. My grandma loves it and Alicia Silverstone is so hot! Anyways, that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is that Betsy is exactly like Cher… She's smart at times, but so thick and clueless every other time. Dr Reed, she didn't even get that you were hitting on her!"

"She didn't?"

"Nope. She was totally oblivious to it."

"So what did you say to make her change her mind, then?"

"I told her that you might uh do something…you know, its not that important. The point is, she's changed her mind and now she's going."

"Morgan!" Jeremy sneered. "What did you tell her?"

"Okay, don't be mad though…but I kind of told her that you might kill yourself, since she rejected you…" he said flinching a little.

"WHAT?"

"You're mad, huh?" Morgan said wincing slightly. "I'm so Dr Reed, I just wanted to see you two happy…that's all."

Jeremy did not want to hear another word. He wanted to kill him.

xoox

"Hello, Dr Lahiri speaking." Mindy said answering her ringing work phone.

"Mindy, don't hang up please! It's Josh!"

"Ugh what do you want?" she asked, groaning into the receiver. "Why are you calling me at work?"

"I had to, you wouldn't answer your cell! I know that you got my text and you are ignoring it, but I wanted to say that I-"

" I'm hanging up now…goodbye." Mindy said cutting him off mid-sentence.

" WAIT! Min, please!. Just give me a minute to explain. I really need to tell you something important."

"Are you dying?"

"What? No."

"Are you checking yourself into a cheating anonymous rehab retreat?"

Josh laughed loudly. "No. Why? Do places like that exist?"

"I don't know Josh. But I'm sure you could make up the organization and fund it, seeing that you have so much _experience_ on the matter!"

"Look, I know that I hurt you and trust me I'm mortified. What I did to you will haunt me forever."

"Good. I'm glad to see that somewhere deep down inside that lying, cheating body of yours is a conscience! Now I won't have to use my future reincarnated life stalking you and giving you hell! Goodbye Josh."

"You haven't changed one bit." Josh sneered, a hint of anger evident in his voice. "You are still so unbelievably stubborn!"

"I am not!" Mindy said hotly. "I just have no time for cheating ex-boyfriends!"

"So you don't believe in talking things through…or getting closure?"

"I've gotten closure buddy! Okay? I have moved on since you. I've dated guys. I've had a relationship."

"_Had?_ So your single now?" he asked sounding optimistic.

"That is none of your business. Now if it's okay with you, I've got to get back to work."

"So you don't need closure. That's fine, Mindy. But I do. Can we please meet up after work today and talk? I have a lot that I need to tell you and get off my chest."

"Hell no." Mindy said snapping quickly. "I am never seeing you again, Josh. You broke my heart. I was more depressed when we broke up than whenever I watch Titanic and Jack dies! Do you know how much you scarred me for life? I almost stopped believing in love because of you…but that was until I watched UP and I saw how beautiful the cranky old man was when he was with his wife- but that's besides the point!"

"So you won't meet me after work then?"

"Am I speaking another language, dude? No I will not."

"So can you at least give me a minute to say what I need to say over the phone?"

"Argh! Fine." She hissed. "You get a minute and then I'm hanging up."

"Why haven't you been returning any of my calls or texts? I've literally been messaging you for months."

"Let's see Josh…I don't know…maybe it has something to do with the fact that you _cheated _on me!"

"I don't know how many times, I need to say that I'm sorry to get through to you but all I know is that still love you, Mindy! I'm sorry for treating you like I did and I swear that if you give me a second chance, I'll make it up to you everyday for the rest of your lives!"

"Never gonna happen dude. Once a cheater, always a cheater!"

"The other day at the coffee shop was the best that I've felt since we broke up. I miss you so much, Mindy! I know you can't find it in your heart to forgive me now, because I was a jerk and I treated you so badly. But you need to know that I still love you and that I'm single. I have been single since we broke up and I am working on improving myself…I'm doing it all for you, Mindy."

"Well that's too bad." Mindy said coldly.

"Can I ask you one question?" Josh said feeling desperate to clutch on to anything that could give him so hope.

Mindy sighed heavily. "What is it?"

"Did you love me?"

"What do you think, Josh? Did you think that I would have cried myself to sleep for over a month, had I _not _loved you? Do you think that I would have given up on love after we broke up, because I just felt like it?"

"So you did love me."

"Ugh you're so cocky and arrogant!" Mindy snapped quickly. "Yes, I loved you. I loved you a lot! Sometimes I have these dreams that we are back together and that I still love you and want you in my life…then I remember the truth…that you are a cheater, Josh and that I will never get back with you again!"

"Remember your favourite tv show that you made me watch…I think it was One Tree Hill? Well, Lucas cheated on Brooke with Peyton but they eventually got back together, huh? Remember how happy you were when they did? They were your favourite couple and we can be like that too." He said desperately trying to plead his case.

"Well, had you stuck around long enough you would have known that Lucas broke Brooke's heart again and married Peyton!" Mindy screamed a little. "Thanks for bringing up Brucas because now you've totally shattered my heart into a million fan girl pieces again from all these feels! I have to go. Goodbye Josh."

"Mindy, wait. I just have to know one last thing, before you go. Are you still in love with me?"

_What the hell was with this guy? Couldn't he take a hint?_ Mindy thought feeling really to explode.

"Josh, a part of me will always love you. You were the first boyfriend that I loved _completely._ I felt loved and safe when I was with you. You also made me feel secure, and ironically I believed that you would be the only boyfriend that I dated to _not _cheat on me. But in time you did, so that's that. The point is, I loved you very much and I will be forever hurt. Feelings don't exactly disappear because you break up. It took me a long time to get over you, but eventually you will move on too, Josh. So no, I'm not still in love with you."

"But you must love me a bit, to say that you will always love me, right?"

"We were together a long time, Josh. I would be lying if I didn't say that I loved you…or still might potentially love you a little deep down."

"Mindy, I never appreciated what we had while we were dating...but I swear to you today, that I will win you back. I love you and I'm not going to stop trying to _prove _that to you. I have to be in court now, but I will see you soon hopefully. Love you babe."

And with that Josh hung up the phone without hearing her reply; leaving her in a more confused and messed up mood.

_Maybe he has changed. He really did seem sincere on the phone… _She thought biting down hard not her lip.

_Great! Why the hell didn't she hang up sooner?_

_Now his words were going to be messing with her head for the rest of the day!_

xoox

Danny walked back onto his office and slammed the door shut furiously.

_How could he be so stupid to think that Mindy would actually like him back?_

He had walked over to her office to talk to her. He had wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her again; and then ask her out to dinner that night. But instead he had overheard her talking to her cheating ex-boyfriend through her half-opened door.

_She still loves him. _

_Danny, you are an idiot! _A small voice in his head taunted him over and over again.

A part of him had always known that Mindy would never reciprocate his feelings for her. She was not only too clueless to realise that he had any; but she also was too concerned with other guys to ever consider him! But after the morning's kiss, he had for a moment started to _hope. _

For once, he had allowed himself to believe that she might potentially feel something for him too; because she had kissed him after all!

But now as he paced his office in complete anger, a swelling hatred consuming his body, he felt like the biggest moron on the history of the planet.

He needed to get over his stupid fantasy that Mindy Lahiri wanted him as badly as he wanted her!


End file.
